Bedminster, colloquially known as Bemmy, is a district of Bristol, England, on the south side of the city. It is also the name of a council ward which includes the central part of the district.
Bedminster was once a small town in Somerset. The town's origins seem to be Roman, centred on the present East Street and West Street. Finds here have been interpreted as an enclosed rural farmstead, dating between the 2nd and 4th centuries, but with possible Iron Age origins.[2] The river Malago, which runs through Bedminster to join the Avon, was an early Christian place for baptisms—the old word for which, beydd, may be the origin of Bedminster's name.[3] Substantial Roman remains have also been found at Bedminster Down, including plaster, tesserae (hence mosaic floors), sandstone roof tiles, coins and pottery, hence the site is thought to be a Roman Villa occupied by the Romano-British.
Open cast coal mining had been done on a small scale since the 1670s, but in 1748 the first shafts were sunk by Sir Jarrit Smyth at South Liberty Lane. By the end of the century there were eighteen coal-pits operating in the Bedminster and Ashton Vale coalfield.
Between 1804 and 1809 the New Cut was excavated through the northern part of the parish from Temple Meads to Hotwells, providing a new course for the River Avon, enabling the original course to be held at a constant level so that shipping could stay afloat in Bristol Harbour, now known as the Floating Harbour. In addition to removing the tides, the new cut also helped with reducing silting in the harbour.
In 1840 the shipbuilder Acramans, Morgan and Co opened the Bedminster Yard on the New Cut, to build a number of steam ships including two large vessels for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the 2,000 tonne Avon and Severn in 1842.[6] In 1862 John Payne Ltd took over the yard, then known as the Vauxhall Yard, and continued to build coastal cargo ships, and small craft such as tugs. They closed in 1925, and the site was taken over by Bristol Metal Welding and Spraying Company, who are still in business there today.
A nocturnal view along East Street
The population of Bedminster increased rapidly, from 3,000 in 1801 to 78,000 in 1884, mostly as a result of the coalfield and industries such as smelting, tanneries, glue-works, paint and glass factories. In the 1880s two major employers moved there – E. S. & A. Robinson (paper bag manufacturers) and W.D. & H.O. Wills (cigarette and cigar makers). The population overflowed to Windmill Hill, Totterdown, Southville, the Chessels and Bedminster Down. During this time, churches, public houses, shops and businesses were built, some of which still survive.
Victoria Park was laid out at the north of Bedminster in the late 1880s to provide recreational facilities for the new housing development.[7]
In World War II, Bedminster was one of several areas of Bristol that were heavily bombed during the Bristol Blitz. Post-war town planning relocated most of the heavy industry to the rural areas to the south of the parish, and new estates grew up in Withywood, Hartcliffe and Highridge.
Bedminster, New Jersey, chartered by King George II in 1748, was named after Bedminster in Bristol.
Administrative history
The parish of Bedminster was part of the hundred of Hartcliffe.[8] The parish anciently extended north up to the original course of the River Avon at Bristol Bridge, in what is now the city centre of Bristol. Several early chapelries were created within the parish covering where the urban area of Bristol was growing south of the river, including Temple Church by 1147, St Mary Redcliffe by 1158, and St Thomas the Martyr by 1200. These chapelries subsequently became separate civil parishes, and were transferred from Somerset to Bristol when it was made a county corporate in 1373.[9] The ancient parish of Bedminster also extended westwards into a rural area which subsequently became the parish of Abbots Leigh. Although treated as separate civil parishes from the Middle Ages, Abbots Leigh, St Mary Redcliffe and St Thomas the Martyr remained part of the ecclesiastical parish of Bedminster until 1852.[10][11]
Having lost Abbots Leigh and ceded the three former chapelries in the Redcliffe area to Bristol in the Middle Ages, the boundaries of the civil parish then remained essentially unchanged, and entirely in Somerset, until the nineteenth century. In 1803 the Act of Parliament authorising the construction of the New Cut of the River Avon transferred the northern strip of Bedminster parish, as lay between the old course of the river and the proposed New Cut, from Somerset into the city and county of Bristol, but left the parish boundary unaffected.[12] In 1836 a further area lying south of the New Cut, including the village (as it was then described) of Bedminster itself, was also brought within Bristol's city boundaries.[lower-alpha 1]
After 1803 the civil parish of Bedminster therefore straddled Somerset and the city and county of Bristol, until the Local Government Act 1894 directed that parishes could no longer straddle county boundaries. The parish was then split into two parts; a reduced Bedminster parish covering the parts within the city of Bristol and a parish called "Bedminster Without" covering the parts outside the city. Bedminster Without ceded further territory to Bristol in 1898 and was renamed Bishopsworth shortly afterwards, which in turn was abolished as a parish in 1951, mostly being absorbed into Bristol. Within the city, the parish of Bedminster was abolished on 30 September 1896, becoming part of a short-lived civil parish called South Bristol before all the parishes in the city were united into a single civil parish called Bristol in 1898.[10][15] In 1891 the parish had a population of 54,194.[16]
Education
There is one Children's Nursery and five primary schools in Bedminster:
North Street Nursery
Holy Cross RC Primary School
Parson Street Primary School
Victoria Park Primary School
Compass Point: South Street School and Children's Centre (known as South Street Primary School before April 2010)
The two main shopping streets in Bedminster, East Street and North Street, form part of the A38 road, extending from Bedminster Bridge over the New Cut to Bedminster Down.
Bedminster is home to many sports teams, including Broad Plain Rugby Club, who play in the Bristol Combination league, and Bedminster Cricket Club, which was founded in 1847 and has historical links with W. G. Grace, who play in the West of England Premier League. Broad Plain RFC are based at Bristol South End, off St Johns Lane, which was the home of Bristol City Football Club before they moved to Ashton Gate, and later the sports and social club associated with E. S. & A. Robinson.
Bedminster is home to one of Bristol's two city farms, below Windmill Hill,[17] and also the national headquarters for the Federation of City Farms.[18] Opposite the city farm is Bristol's Hackspace, a shared workshop for electronics and robotics hobbyists.[19]
A greyhound racing track called the Magnet Racecourse was opened on 9 June 1928, on South Liberty Lane, Long Ashton. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the National Greyhound Racing Club) known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks.[20] The NGRC refused to license the Magnet Greyhound Racing Company because the district already had licensed tracks at Eastville Stadium and Knowle Stadium. Racing was held as many as five times per week on what was described as a horse-shoe shape with the main distance being 475 yards. The track closed on 26 August 1932.[21]
Council ward
The Bedminster council ward does not include the northern part of Bedminster, which is in Southville ward. Nor does it include the area east of the railway line, which is in Windmill Hill ward. Bedminster Down is in Bishopsworth ward. Bedminster ward does include the district of Ashton Vale, to the south of Bedminster.
Ashton Vale includes an area of housing centred on Ashton Drive and South Liberty Lane, served by Ashton Vale Primary School. The northern part of Ashton Vale, adjacent to the Portishead Railway line, is mixed light industrial and retail outlets.
Politics
The Bedminster council ward elects two members of Bristol City Council. Celia Phipps and Mark Bradshaw are the current ward councillors, both of whom are members of the Labour Party.[22]
Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuary. Strategically the area has been and remains an important part of the region's maritime economy particularly for larger vessels for the unloading and exporting of heavier goods as well as in industry including warehousing, light industry, electrical power and sanitation. The area contains a junction of and is connected to the south by the M5 motorway and other roads, railway tracks and paths to the north, south-east and east.
Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a population of 6,044. The parish includes the hamlet of Yanley, and the residential area of Leigh Woods.
Southville is an inner city ward of Bristol, England, on the south bank of the River Avon northwest of Bedminster. Most of the area's houses were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for workers in the Bristol coal mining industry or the tobacco factories of W. D. & H. O. Wills, homes of the eponymous "Wills Girls". The world headquarters of Imperial Tobacco, the world's fourth largest international tobacco company, used to be here, but moved to Ashton. Southville was also a centre for the tanning industry.
Dundry is a village and civil parish, situated on Dundry Hill in the northern part of the Mendip Hills, between Bristol and the Chew Valley Lake, in the English county of North Somerset, previously Somerset. The parish includes the hamlets of Maiden Head and East Dundry. The parish had a 2011 population of 829.
Bristol South is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Karin Smyth of the Labour Party.
Spike Island is an inner city and harbour area of the English port city of Bristol, adjoining the city centre. It comprises the strip of land between the Floating Harbour to the north and the tidal New Cut of the River Avon to the south, from the dock entrance to the west to Bathurst Basin in the east. The island forms part of Cabot ward. The area between the Docks and New cut to the east of Bathurst Basin is in the neighbourhoods of Redcliffe and St Philip's Marsh.
The city of Bristol, England, is divided into many areas, which often overlap or have non-fixed borders. These include Parliamentary constituencies, council wards and unofficial neighbourhoods. There are no civil parishes in Bristol.
Bower Ashton is a village in south west Bristol on the western boundary with North Somerset, lying within the Southville ward, approximately two miles from the city centre. Ashton Court estate, a 850-acre (3.4 km2) recreational area owned by Bristol City Council lies just to the north, the Long Ashton by-pass to the south and the River Avon to the east.
Redcliffe, also known as Redcliff, is a district of the English port city of Bristol, lying south-east of the city centre. It is bounded by the loop of the Floating Harbour to the west, north and east, together with the New Cut of the River Avon to the south. Most of Redcliffe lies within the city ward of Lawrence Hill, although the westernmost section, including the cliffs and hill from which the area takes its name, is in Cabot ward. Bristol Temple Meads station is located in Redcliffe.
Bedminster railway station is on the Bristol to Exeter line and serves the districts of Bedminster and Windmill Hill in Bristol, south-west England. It is 0.9 miles (1.4 km) to the west of Bristol Temple Meads, and 119 miles (192 km) from London Paddington. Its three letter station code is BMT. It was opened in 1871 by the Bristol and Exeter Railway, was resited slightly further to the west in 1884 and was rebuilt in 1932. The station, which has three through-lines and two island platforms, but minimal facilities, is managed by Great Western Railway who operates all train services that serve the station, mainly an hourly service between Bristol Parkway and Weston-super-Mare.
Ashton Gate is a suburb of Bristol, United Kingdom, in the Southville ward of Bristol City Council. A toll house at the western end of North Street still survives and indicates the origin of the area's name as a gate on the road to Ashton. Once part of the estate of the Smyth family of Ashton Court, the area had ironworks and collieries in the nineteenth century, also a tobacco factory and a brewery. There is still some manufacturing industry and retail parks and in 2003 the Bristol Beer Factory recommenced brewing in the former brewery site. Ashton Gate railway station closed in 1964.
The New Cut is an artificial waterway which was constructed between 1804 and 1809 to divert the tidal river Avon through south and east Bristol, England. This was part of the process of constructing Bristol's Floating Harbour, under the supervision of engineer William Jessop. The cut runs from Totterdown Basin at the eastern end of St Phillip's Marsh, near Temple Meads, to the Underfall sluices at Rownham in Hotwells and rejoining the original course of the tidal Avon.
The Malago is a tributary of the Bristol Avon in southwestern England, some 5 miles (8.0 km) long. The river rises in springs on the north side of Dundry Hill on the borders of Somerset and Bristol. The main tributary is the Pigeonhouse stream which also rises on Dundry. Much of the river has been culverted as it flows through built-up South Bristol.
The 2010 Bristol City Council elections were held on Thursday 6 May 2010, for 23 seats, that being one third of the total number of councillors. The Liberal Democrats, who had won overall control of the council in 2009, increased their majority to six seats.
The 2014 Bristol City Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of Bristol City Council in England, as part of the United Kingdom 2014 Local Elections.
The 2015 Bristol City Council election took place on 7 May 2015 to elect members of Bristol City Council in England. This was on the same day as other local elections.
South Bristol is the part of Bristol, England south of the Bristol Avon. It is almost entirely made up of the areas of the city historically in Somerset, and since the abolition of the county Avon, consists of the southern suburbs in the county of Bristol. Definitions sometimes also include areas of North Somerset, including Long Ashton, Nailsea and Backwell.
Road building was central to planning policy for much of the 20th century in Bristol, England. The planned road network evolved over time but at its core was a network of concentric ring roads and high-capacity radial roads.
References
↑ "Bedminster"(PDF). 2011 Census Ward Information Sheet. Archived from the original(PDF) on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
↑ Jackson, Reg & Roper Simon (2008). Archaeological Desk-based Assessment of land at ASHTON VALE, BRISTOL. Ashton Gateway Project. p9
↑ Bantock, Anton (December 2001). "Bedminster". Avon Parishes (106). Bristol: Bristol & Avon Family History Society. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
↑ Harding, N. Dermott (1930). Bristol Charters 1155–1373(PDF). Bristol: Bristol Record Society. pp.146–165. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
1 2 Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume 1, Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. p.416. ISBN0901050679.
↑ "Bristol Harbour Act 1803". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 30 August 2023. Section 65 (LXV) "...from and immediately after the passing of this Act... such Part of the Lands between the old and intended Course of the River Avon, as shall be situate in Part of the present Counties of Somerset and Gloucester respectively... shall be to all Intents and Purposes... wholly exempted and separated from the said Counties of Somerset and Gloucester... and shall be taken and accepted as Member, Part, and Parcel of the aforesaid City of Bristol and County of the same City..."
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