Walk in Bristol
with Richie
BS 7
Bishopston, Horfield, part of Filton, Lockleaze, Ashley Down
Bishopston
Bishopston is named after the bishop of the local diocese who controversially sold off the church's land to private developers in the early 19th century.
The sale was even raised as an issue in the House of Commons.
The parish of Bishopston was then created in July 1862 with a population of 1300 and expanding to 9140 in the Census 1901. In the Census 2001 Bishopston registered a resident population of 11,996.
The district is part of the Bristol built-up area, having been swallowed by the growing city, running directly into the surrounding districts of Redland, Ashley Down, Horfield and Henleaze.
The area has a relatively large student population, with 21% of the over-16 population in education compared to 8.4% in Bristol and 5.1% in England and Wales.
Some of the location filming for the cult BBC sitcom The Young Ones was done in Codrington Road and elsewhere.
The external shots for the famous "bank-robbing" scene in the last episode were filmed outside the now closed Bristol North Swimming Baths on Gloucester Road.
Bishopston was the home of two Nobel Prize–winning physicists. In 1933 Paul Dirac, who attended the Bishop Road Primary School, just a few hundred metres from where he lived on Monk Road, won the prize after his contributions to quantum mechanics.
In 1950 Cecil Frank Powell won the prestigious award for contributions to Physics (specifically, for his development of the photographic method of studying nuclear processes and his discoveries regarding mesons made with this method).
Bishopston was home to television presenter Adam Hart-Davis and psychologist Susan Blackmore.
The area has produced many musicians of note Robert "3D" Del Naja and Daddy G of Massive Attack. DJ Collective Stanton Warriors and International DJ Nick Warren.
Juventus and Italian footballer Alessandro Del Piero also lived in the district for a period as a child when his father worked as a restaurateur in the thriving Italian community that lives there.
The famous film star Cary Grant (real name Archibald Alexander Leach) attended Bishop Road School in Bishopston. As a child he lived nearby in Hughenden Road next to Horfield Common, where there is a blue plaque to commemorate him.
Bishopston has two primary schools, St. Bonaventure's Catholic Primary School which served the huge Italian Irish and South American Catholic community and Bishop Road Primary School COE which was a secondary school up until the mid 1980s and served children of the Anglican faith and drew in children from the Asian and Jamaican community in St Paul's and Montpellier.
Gloucester Road, the main route through Bishopston, is known for its independent shops.
The main artery, Gloucester Road well known for its pubs and restaurants, and one of the last remaining local high streets in the country is well used by local residents.
In addition to the independently-run shops such as Scoopaway, La Ruca, Gardener's Patch and Harvest, recent years has seen several supermarket chains opening stores in the area.
This, and the range of fairly traded and local goods available, has made it popular with ecologically-minded shoppers.
Bishopston is home to Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, located off Nevil Road.
The ground's capacity has been increased to hold international cricket matches.
The David Thomas Memorial church, in neighbouring St Andrews, was erected between 1879 and 1881 but was demolished in 1987, destroying most of a Gothic fantasy by Stuart Coleman.
The building still retains a thin octagonal spire and west front but the massive halls, apse and rib vaults have now gone, and have been replaced by flats by Stride Treglown.
Horfield
The name 'Horfield' is Anglo-Saxon in origin, meaning 'Filthy open land' (Old English 'horu' and 'feld').
Horfield was a parish in the hundred of Berkeley in Gloucestershire, which included Bishopston, Golden Hill, Lockleaze and part of Ashley Down.
Historically, the area had a reputation as a lawless place because Horfield Wood was the haunt of thieves and vagrants. The area remained rural until the early 19th century.
Following the 1831 Bristol Riots, during which the local gaol burnt down, Horfield Prison was completed in 1847. A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion of Horfield Barracks also in 1847.
Horfield was mostly developed from the mid 19th century onwards. In 1859, Bishopston became a separate parish. The remainder of Horfield became a civil parish in 1866, when civil parishes were introduced.
In 1894 Horfield Urban District was formed, but in 1904 it was absorbed into Bristol.
Horfield is home to the Memorial Stadium: a sports stadium built in 1921 for Bristol Rugby Club in memory of the rugby union players of the city who died in World War I, and rededicated to also commemorate the dead of World War II.
In 1996, the ground also became home to Bristol Rovers Football Club who now own it.
Near the Stadium is The Wellington, CAMRA Bristol & District joint winner of Pub of the Year for 2005.
The 2006 Pub of the Year is also in Horfield, The Inn on the Green (on the Gloucester Road)
Horfield has a leisure centre that was updated to have a 25-metre swimming pool in 2005.
Famous sons of Horfield include Hollywood actor Cary Grant, who was born at 15 Hughenden Road, in 1904, and composer Ray Steadman-Allen was born at 64 Muller Road, in 1922.
The cartoonist Annie Fish was born at Brynland Avenue in 1890.
There are a number of interesting churches in Horfield.
Church of the Holy Trinity with St Edmund – the parish church was possibly founded as early as 603 but the earliest remnant is an old pillar and the circular churchyard.
The tower is late 15th century or early 16th century with the nave and aisles added to by William Butterfield in 1847.
The central tower was erected in 1893 by local firm Crisp & Oately and the transepts later in 1913 and 1929. It is a grade II* listed building.
St. Edmunds Church – erected in the lancet style in 1860 by ST Welch erected as a school and then given a tower and side asiles in 1930 by Hartland Thomas.
A building with a roof (similar to Horfield Parish), Anglo catholic interior, and a high church tradition.
The church closed in 1979 and was a printers but was demolished in 2006 – the local planning authority did not request obligatory photos.
Horfield Barracks chapel – erected 1859 (not 1847 as in Buildings of England).
A fine lancet styled chapel with some good handling of dressings and very good bellcote. Closed in the 1920s and has been converted to offices. It is grade II listed.
Methodist Chapel – 1899 by La Trobe – very good essay in late Victorian Arts and Crafts Gothic with a fine wooden interior.
The former Salvation Army chapel – in Ashley Down Road.
Horfield Baptist Chapel – a twin towered perpendicular chapel by Milverton Drake with an organ by Hele.
The Roman Catholic Chapel of St Maximillian Kolbe with St Edith Stein and the Holocaust Martyrs – in Alfoxton Road.
Quaker meeting house of 1906 – domestic red brick.
Whitefield Tabernacle Muller Road – Contains the 18th century pulpit removed from Penn Street Tabernacle when that was demolished to make way for the city centre.
It also contains the superb 1815 wooden organ case.
Filton
Filton is a large suburban town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of the City of Bristol and approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from the city centre.
The town centres upon Filton Church, which dates back to the 12th century and is a Grade II listed building.
The name of the town comes from the Old English feleþe (hay), and tÅ«n (farm, field). The name dates back to at least 1187.
Filton has large areas of open space which include several playing fields, a golf course and the former Filton Airport (closed in 2012).
Thousands of mites, farthings and other coins of the Roman emperors, Domitian, Constantine and Constans were found in a bank by some boys in 1880.
Many of the coins were in excellent condition.
At the dawn of the 20th century, Filton was a small village, still detached from the city of Bristol to the south.
Farming was the principal occupation. However, there was a large factory-like laundry in the village, opposite Filton House, owned by Samuel Shield.
The Bristol to South Wales railway line passed through the village. There was a small station near the site of the current Abbey Wood station.
A much larger railway station, known as Filton Junction, opened in 1910, after the alternate rail route from Bristol to London was finished.
In 1907 the northern terminus for Bristol Tramways was moved out from Horfield to Filton. Tram production in the tramway sheds commenced in 1908. The manufacture of aeroplanes started in the Bristol Tramway sheds in 1910 and aero-engine production started in 1920.
Between the wars, Filton expanded rapidly to become a suburb of Bristol. Initially development (semi-detached housing) was concentrated on the western side of the A38, in an area known as Filton Park.
In the 1930s, the area on the eastern side of the A38 started to be developed.
Eventually, Filton became part of the Bristol conurbation, although it remained, as it does now, outside the city boundary.
During the 1920s and 1930s, two infant/primary schools and one secondary school were built in Filton to accommodate the growing number of school-age children in the area. Many of these children were evacuated when World War II started in 1939, but returned later, during the Phoney War. Filton High School, originally a grammar school, but later a comprehensive, started to take pupils in 1960.
In 2010 Filton High was demolished and replaced with Abbeywood Community School.
In the late 1940s, the main runway of Filton Aerodrome was greatly extended for the Bristol Brabazon project. Charlton village was demolished and the pre-war Filton bypass was severed. In the early 1960s, a new bypass was constructed, roughly parallel to the old one, and this later became part of the M5 motorway.
Sandwiched between roads, factories, railway lines and the aerodrome, Filton expanded little after World War II. However, from the late 1970s a trading estate slowly developed on the eastern side of the Bristol/South Wales railway line in what is now known as East Filton. During the mid-1970s the A38 trunk road was upgraded to a dual carriageway.
Station Road, a country lane in the early part of the 20th century, was also widened to become a dual carriageway and form part of the Avon Ring Road.
In 1973, the Rolls-Royce car division was separated as Rolls-Royce Motors. Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited (the engine division) was privatised in 1987 as Rolls-Royce plc.
Later, the Ministry of Defence set up a large office complex, known as Abbey Wood, in the same area.
Lockleaze
Lockleaze is an area and council ward in the northern suburbs of the city of Bristol, England, three miles north of the city centre, south of Filton, east of Horfieldand west of Frenchay.
Lockleaze is a long narrow residential area built on the western flank of Purdown on a north-south axis, separated from Horfield by the main Bristol to South Wales railway line.
The suburb was developed immediately after World War II.
Although much of the housing was owned by Bristol Corporation, some are now privately owned.
The Channel 4 sitcom Teachers was filmed at Lockleaze school, which was built by the city architect A.H. Clarke in 1954. It was an early example of 'Method Building' using pre-cast frame with pre-stressed floors and brick panel walling.
St Mary's church dates from 1956 by T.H.B. Burrough.
A microwave transmission tower, Purdown BT Tower, is located at Lockleaze and is known locally as the "Cups and Saucers".
The distinctive tower can be seen from many miles away.
During World War II, an anti-aircraft gun emplacement, known locally as Purdown Purcy, was located on the down, the ruins of which remain today.
The estate takes its name from Lockleaze Farm, which occupied the site.
The name Lock Leaze comes from the Anglo-Saxon for a fold in a field or pasture.
Lockleaze Farm stood roughly where Bonnington Walk is today, between Stothard Road, Branwhite Close and Thornycroft Close. The farm stood at the end of Lockleaze Lane, neither the lane nor the farm buildings remain today.
Lockleaze Lane was a continuation of Berry Lane, which began at the junction between Gloucester Road and the present-day Muller Road, at Horfield Court Farm.
The lane followed the route of Muller Road, Filton Avenue, Berry Lane and Chedworth Road, before crossing the gas works and crossing the railway at the present day Constable Road/Lockleaze Road bridge.
On the south side of Chedworth Road stood Berry Lane Farm. As well as Lockleaze Farm there was also Purdown Farm which stands at the site of present-day Fairacre Close.
The old farmhouse remained long after the houses were built at Haydon Gardens.
Nearly all the roads in Lockleaze are named after painters.
Attractions of BS 7 Area
Glouchester Road
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Gloucester Road is a road in Bristol, England. It runs through the suburbs of St. Andrew's, Bishopston and Horfield and is a part of the A38, a former coaching route north of Bristol to Filton and the M5 Motorway.
The street is a focal point for local businesses, and is promoted by Bristol City Council as a centre of independent trade. The Bristol North Baths on Gloucester Road were popular for most of the 20th century, and the location was used in filming for several television shows. Numerous shops and bars have achieved popularity in the local press for their unique contribution to Bristol. Graffiti and stencil art is popular and encouraged by some business in the area.
https://www.facebook.com/Gloucesterroadbristol/
Horfield Methodist Church
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The building was opened on 22nd January 1899 at a cost of £2906 19s. and 11d. It was constructed in French gothic/arts crafts style by La Trobe who designed various secular buildings in central Bristol.
1 Churchways Ave, Bristol BS7 8SN
Official website:
http://www.horfieldmethodist.org.uk/
Tel: 0117 924 8407
Horfield Parish Church
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The Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity with St Edmund is a church on Wellington Hill, Horfield in Bristol, England. It has been designated as a grade II* listed building.
43 Wellington Hill, Bristol BS7 8SP
https://www.horfieldparishchurch.org.uk/
Kelvin Players Theatre
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2019 sees Kelvin Players celebrate it's 90th year having been established in 1929 with its first production 'The Private Secretary by Charles Hawtrey.
​Kelvin Players is one of the largest and most respected non-professional theatre companies in the South West. From the base of our Studio Theatre on Gloucester Road in Bristol we present at least five productions each year varying hugely in style, period and genre.
253b Gloucester Rd, Bristol BS7 8NY
Official website:
https://www.kelvinplayers.co.uk/
Tel: 0117 959 3636
Memorial Stadium - Bristol Rovers
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The Memorial Stadium, also commonly known by its previous name of the Memorial Ground, is a sports ground in Bristol, England. It opened in 1921 dedicated to the memory of local rugby union players killed during the First World War, and was the home of Bristol Rugby until they moved to Ashton Gate in 2014. It is currently the home stadium of Bristol Rovers F.C., who moved there in 1996.
33 Filton Ave, Bristol BS7 0BF
https://www.bristolrovers.co.uk/
Monks Park
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Monk’s Park is a large, flat, enclosed park nestled between houses and Orchard School Bristol in Northville. Entrances to the park are on Lyddington Road, Pitlochry Close, Biddestone Road and Kenmore Crescent. There are a children’s play area and many paved walkways, so easy for wheelchairs and pushchairs.
60 Kenmore Cres, Bristol BS7 0TR
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Purdowd BT Tower
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Purdown BT Tower is a 70.1 metres (230 ft) tall telecommunications tower, which was built in 1970 and is located on a hill (Purdown) in Stoke Park just north of the city centre of Bristol, England in the Lockleaze suburb, UK .
Sir John's Ln, Bristol BS7 9TH
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St Bonaventure's Church
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Built 1900-1909 to the designs of the firm Pugin and Pugin, the design shows none of the flair of the founder of the company, Augustus Welby Pugin. Quite a large but very plain church, typical of the design of Franciscan churches.
St Gregory The Great
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The church of St. Gregory the Great, Horfield, began life as a mission church to the parish church, Holy Trinity, Horfield, to accommodate the needs of the growing population in the area. The service registers date from 1911, but no baptisms appear to have taken place at St. Gregory's until 1920, and no marriages or burials until 1930. The district of St. Gregory was formed out of Horfield parish by an Order in Council, 1929 Dec. 17. A new church was then built, and consecrated 1934 Jan. 20
St. Gregorys Vicarage/Filton Rd, Bristol BS7 0PD
Official website:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/Stgregorys.horfield/
Tel: 0117 969 2839
George Muller Museum
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The museum sets out the story of George Müller through photographs and artefacts from the Orphan Homes and includes papers and personal effects which belonged to George Müller.
45-47 Loft House, College Road, Ashley Down, BS7 9FG
Official website:
https://www.mullers.org/museum
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Ashley Down
Ashley Down is an area in the north of Bristol. It lies on high ground east of Bishopston, north of St Andrews and St Werburghs, west of Muller Road and south of Horfield.
The main artery is Ashley Down Road. Since May 2016 it is part of the "Bishopston & Ashley Down" ward of Bristol City Council.
Ashley Down was developed in Victorian times. A number of large detached villas were built on Ashley Down Road. Smaller terraced houses were built in the north of the district.
In 1845 George Müller entered into a contract for the purchase of 7 acres (28,000 m²) of ground at £120 per acre (£0.03/m²) for the accommodation, feeding, clothing and education of 300 destitute and orphan children.
On 18 June 1849 the orphans transferred to the new building, designed by local architect Thomas Foster.
By the time he died in 1898, Müller had received £1,500,000 through prayer and had over 10,000 children in his care.
The orphanage continued on the Ashley Down site until 1958. Orphan Houses 2, 4 and 5 are now owned by Bristol City College, while No 3 House (in which Müller lived for the last few years of his life and in which he died), on the other side of Ashley Down Road was converted into private flats in 2007.
No 1 House is currently (2010) being redeveloped as flats.
In 1958 the buildings became Bristol College of Science and Technology (more recently changed to City of Bristol College, Brunel Campus).
The site has been used as the film set for the BBC television series Casualty.
Muller Road, which runs near the site of the orphanage, is named after its founder.
In 1889 W.G. Grace bought some land at Ashley Down, which became and remained the home of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.
The ground has a capacity of 8,000.
In July 2009, Gloucestershire C.C.C. announced plans to redevelop the ground into a 20,000 capacity stadium. The ground will also include a "world class" media centre and conference facilities.
In March 2010, Bristol City Council gave the go-ahead for the new ground.
Once completed, the ground will be one of the biggest cricketing venues in England and, as a result, the club hope it become a regular venue for international matches and one of the host grounds of the 2019 Cricket World Cup.
Ashley Down Old Boys' RFC is a rugby club playing in Gloucestershire League I. They are members of the Bristol Combination.
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