The history and development of Combe Down, Bath since 1700. Combe Down village sits in an area of redundant 18th and 19th century stone quarries bought by Ralph Allen - an entrepreneur and philanthropist notable for his reforms to the British postal system - in the 1720s. The area contains many sites of special architectural, historical, or cultural significance including Prior Park and Prior Park Landscape Garden, four historical cemeteries (two Anglican, one Jewish and one Roman catholic) as well as hundreds of acres of woodland owned by the National Trust. The website charts the development of the area, shows how modern amenities including those taken for granted today such as water, gas and electricity were introduced and has short biographies of the notable people who have lived there.