Bitterne Park

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Bitterne Park
Cobden Bridge.jpg
Cobden Bridge crosses the River Itchen at Bitterne Park
Southampton from OpenStreetMap.png
Red pog.svg
Bitterne Park
Location within Southampton
Population14,026 (2011 Census. Ward) [1]
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town SOUTHAMPTON
Postcode district SO18
Dialling code 023
Police Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Hampshire
50°55′26″N1°22′18″W / 50.9238°N 1.3718°W / 50.9238; -1.3718

Bitterne Park is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England, on the Eastern bank of the River Itchen, built on sloping parkland which once formed part of Bitterne Manor.

Contents

Bitterne Park Ward includes the suburbs of Bitterne Park, Bitterne Manor, Midanbury and Townhill Park, and had a population of 14,026 at the 2011 Census. [1] The ward is bounded by Bevois, Portswood and Swaythling wards across the River Itchen to the west, and Harefield and Peartree wards to the east.

History

A Bronze Age hoard mostly consisting of axe heads was found at Bond Road in 1894. [2]

The National Liberal Land Company purchased the land that is now Bitterne Park in 1882, and began developing it for residential purposes. [3] An iron bridge was constructed across the Itchen to St Denys, thus improving access and vastly increasing the value of the land.

Local area

The clock tower at Bitterne Park Triangle. Bitterne Park clock tower (cropped).jpg
The clock tower at Bitterne Park Triangle.
Aerial view of housing in Bitterne Park in 2016 Bitterne Park (geograph 5049909).jpg
Aerial view of housing in Bitterne Park in 2016

The area is largely residential, with Bitterne Park Triangle as its focal point. A number of shops cluster around the Triangle.

There have been no banking facilities since the closure of NatWest's Triangle branch in the 1990s and later the Post Office branch, in 2005; however, there are three cash machines. There are a number of take-away restaurants in Bitterne Park Triangle, including a fish and chip shop, a kebab house, Chinese restaurants, an American pizza house, Thai restaurants and an Indian restaurant. There are various other facilities available such as a laundrette, convenience stores, craft beer pub, hairdresser, barbers and a bakery.

Bitterne Park is also home to several schools and local library. Since 2008 the Church of the Ascension has contained the lightest ring of twelve bells in the world. [4] [5]

Bitterne Park is at the Eastern end of Cobden Bridge, which links the area to St. Denys on the Western bank of the River Itchen. The Southern section of Southampton's Riverside Park is located in Bitterne Park. Riverside Park is host to a 1/5 mile miniature railway, children's play areas, two cricket pitches, a tennis court, a skate park, and several football pitches. The total size of Riverside Park is 32 hectares.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Itchen, Hampshire</span> River in Hampshire, England

The River Itchen in Hampshire, England, rises to the south of New Alresford and flows 26 miles (42 km) to meet Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge. The Itchen Navigation was constructed in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to enable barges to reach Winchester from Southampton Docks, but ceased to operate in the mid-19th century and is largely abandoned today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton Itchen (UK Parliament constituency)</span>

Southampton, Itchen is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Royston Smith, a Conservative member of parliament. Discounting the Speaker returned in the early 1970s in two elections, local voters have elected the MP from only two parties alternately for various periods, with one party reaffiliation (defection) between elections when the Labour Party split in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portswood</span> Human settlement in England

Portswood is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north-north-east of the city centre and is bounded by Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitterne</span> Suburb in England

Bitterne is an eastern suburb and ward of Southampton, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northam, Southampton</span> Human settlement in England

Northam is a suburb of Southampton in Hampshire. On the West bank of the River Itchen, it shares borders with St Mary's, Bitterne and Bevois Valley. Beside the border with St Mary's is the Chapel area, which has been home to some recent apartment building developments in Northam. The A3024 road runs through the suburb and crosses the Northam Bridge, which links Northam with Bitterne via Bitterne Manor. Although St Mary's Stadium takes its name from the neighbouring St Mary's, the stadium itself is in Northam, and home to Southampton F.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bitterne Manor</span> Human settlement in England

Bitterne Manor is a suburb of Southampton surrounding the manor house of the same name. It is located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen, across Cobden Bridge from St Denys.

St Denys is a partially riverside district of Southampton, England, centred 1.5 miles (2.4 km) north north-east of the city centre facing variously Bitterne Park and quay across the River Itchen estuary. The river is here spanned in the mid-east extreme of the district by Cobden Bridge, one of five within the city's broad boundaries, six including the railway bridge 100 m south. It is separated from the city centre by the districts sometimes known as Bevois Valley and New Town, in turn and to the south a riverside boardwalk allows pedestrian and bicycle access to the Mount Pleasant Industrial Estate and Northam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sholing</span> Human settlement in England

Sholing, previously Scholing, is a district on the eastern side of the city of Southampton in Southern England. It is located between the districts of Bitterne, Thornhill and Woolston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woolston, Southampton</span> Human settlement in England

Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mansbridge</span> Human settlement in England

Mansbridge is a suburb on the northern perimeter of Southampton, England. The area is named after the Mans Bridge which spans the River Itchen. For a considerable time, this was the southernmost crossing point of the river, before the construction of Woodmill in Swaythling. The bridge itself still stands and is a Grade II listed structure but is closed to road traffic, having been replaced by a larger and more modern road bridge to carry the A27.

Southampton is a city in Hampshire, England. The area has been settled since the Stone Age. Its history has been affected by its geographical location, on a major estuary on the English Channel coast with an unusual double high-tide, and by its proximity to Winchester and London; the ancient and modern capitals of England. Having been an important regional centre for centuries, Southampton was awarded city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 1964 .

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobden Bridge</span> Bridge in Bitterne Park, St Denys

Cobden Bridge is a major road bridge in Southampton, UK. It crosses the River Itchen joining the suburbs of St Denys and Bitterne Park. It forms part of the A3035. The present bridge dates from 1928, but there has been a bridge on this site since 1883.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Southampton</span> Passenger and cargo port in Southampton, England

The Port of Southampton is a passenger and cargo port in the central part of the south coast of England. The modern era in the history of the Port of Southampton began when the first dock was inaugurated in 1843. After the Port of Felixstowe, Southampton is the second largest container terminal in UK, with a handled traffic of 1.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU). It also handles cruise ships, roll-on roll-off, dry bulk, and liquid bulk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northam Bridge</span> Bridge in Northam, Bitterne Manor

The Northam Bridge is a road bridge across the River Itchen in Southampton, England, linking the suburbs of Northam and Bitterne Manor. The current bridge was the first major prestressed concrete road bridge to be built in the United Kingdom. The bridge carries the A3024 road as a dual carriageway, with two lanes on each carriageway.

National Cycle Route 23 is a route of the National Cycle Network, running from Reading to Sandown. The partially signed route passes through Basingstoke, Eastleigh and Southampton; once across the Solent, it continues through Cowes and Newport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Hamble Country Park</span> Park in Hampshire, England

River Hamble Country Park is a 144.1-hectare (356-acre) Local Nature Reserve which runs along the west bank of the River Hamble between the villages of Botley and Bursledon in Hampshire. It is owned by Hampshire County Council and managed by Hampshire Countryside Service. It is part of Solent and Southampton Water Ramsar site and Special Protection Area, and of Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation. Part of it is in Upper Hamble Estuary and Woods, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peartree Green</span> Human settlement in England

Peartree Green is an open space on high ground on the east bank of the River Itchen in Southampton. A 16/17th century building, Peartree House, still stands, though is today concealed by private housing. The house and the green take their name from a pear tree that grew near the parish church. Some of the original open space has been built on, but a large proportion remains as a recreational area. It contains a church and the remains of a boarding school. It overlooks the River Itchen to St Mary's Church in Southampton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clausentum</span> Town in Roman Britannia

Clausentum was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. The site is believed to be located in Bitterne Manor, which is now a suburb of Southampton.

South Stoneham was a manor in South Stoneham parish. It was also a hundred, Poor law union, sanitary district then rural district covering a larger area of south Hampshire, England close to Southampton.

Royston Matthew Smith is a British Conservative Party politician and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Southampton Itchen since the 2015 general election. Smith was previously a councillor on the Southampton City Council.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bitterne Park (Ward) Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics". Office for National Statistics. 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  2. PR Cottrell (2011). Southampton Archaeology Unit Report 1035 Archaeological desk-based assessment of Bitterne Manor Park, Southampton (PDF) (Report). Southampton City Council. pp. 13–14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  3. http://www.bitternepark.info/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=82&Itemid=70 A history of Bitterne Park
  4. Dove's Guide: Home page
  5. New Bells To Ring Out At City Church (from Daily Echo)