Frenchay

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Frenchay
Gloucestershire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Frenchay
Location within Gloucestershire
OS grid reference ST640778
Civil parish
  • Winterbourne
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BRISTOL
Postcode district BS16
Dialling code 0117
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Avon
Ambulance South Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire
51°29′52″N2°31′10″W / 51.4979°N 2.5194°W / 51.4979; -2.5194

Frenchay is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. It is part of the Bristol Built-up Area, located 5 miles (8 km) north-east of Bristol city centre.

Contents

Frenchay was designated as a conservation area in 1975 in recognition of its unique architectural and historic character and appearance.

The village is situated between the B4058 road, which runs parallel to the M32 motorway in the west, and the wooded River Frome valley to the south and east. To the north, the built-up area ends at the A4174 Avon ring road, beyond which is the Avon Green Belt.

Frenchay village has much green space, including the common, walks along the River Frome, and a moor owned by The National Trust. The Village Hall is a village hub, and there is an annual village flower show. [1] Frenchay Park, an adjacent suburb, is situated within Bristol city limits.

Around November 2022, the village school moved site nearer to the now-closed hospital. The previous site was closed promptly.

Frenchay gives its name to the Frenchay Campus of the University of the West of England, though the campus itself is situated in the neighbouring parish of Stoke Gifford.

History

Frenchay was first recorded in 1257 as Fromscawe and later as Fromeshaw, meaning the wood on the Frome. [2]

Frenchay's largest place of worship is the Anglican Church of St John the Baptist, adjacent to the large village common, which is overlooked by a number of 18th-century houses principally built by wealthy Quaker families. These include the very fine former Rectory, Bradford's House and the adjacent Frenchay Common House. Also overlooking the common is the village school which dates from 1842. The village also contains a Catholic church, a Quaker Meeting House and a Unitarian chapel.

Cricket was played on Frenchay Common from early in the nineteenth century, apparently on the initiative of the Wadham family who lived at Frenchay Manor House and who owned farms locally at Doynton, Pomfrey, Mangotsfield, Downend and Frenchay, and many of whom are buried in the graveyard of St John the Baptist Church. [3]

W.G. Grace, the famous Victorian cricketer, whose family lived in the next village of Downend, was captain of the village cricket team. [4] The Frenchay Cricket Club, which is said to have been the first village club in the county, was established in 1846. [5]

Frenchay's earliest place of worship was the Quaker Meeting House, established in 1670 and replaced with a new building in 1809.

Many Quaker merchants from nearby Bristol made their homes here, including Joseph Storrs Fry, the Quaker chocolate manufacturer, who styled his company J S Fry & Sons, which manufactured the first ever commercially available chocolate bar in the world. He moved to Grove House (now Riverwood House) in 1800. He died in 1835 and is buried in the burying ground behind the Meeting House along with his wife and daughter, Pricilla.

Frenchay was the home to Frenchay Hospital, greatly expanded during World War II for the US Army, which treated wounded soldiers returning from the D-Day landings in Normandy. Facilities merged with Southmead Hospital, further towards the centre of the city, in 2014. A&E services closed on 19 May 2014. The closure of Frenchay Hospital has made way for a new housing development. [6]

Wadhams of Frenchay Manor

John Wadham (1762–1843) of Frenchay Manor House was, from 1789, a co-owner and director of Wadham, Ricketts & Co, later Wadham, Ricketts, Fry & Co, which manufactured Bristol blue glass at the Phoenix Glassworks near Temple Gate, Bristol, examples of which can be seen in Bristol Museum, [7] and was a director of the Bristol Floating Harbour Company in 1820.

Frenchay Common, showing grade II* listed Frenchay Unitarian Chapel and three grade II listed houses Frenchay Common, north-east corner.jpg
Frenchay Common, showing grade II* listed Frenchay Unitarian Chapel and three grade II listed houses
St John the Baptist Church St John the Baptist, Frenchay, from south-east.jpg
St John the Baptist Church
Frenchay Manor House, a grade II* listed building, now a care home Frenchay Manor House - geograph.org.uk - 307935.jpg
Frenchay Manor House, a grade II* listed building, now a care home

His son Thomas Wadham (1797–1849) was High Sheriff of Bristol in 1843, the year that Isambard Kingdom Brunel launched his ship SS Great Britain in Bristol Harbour. Thomas Wadham and his son the Rev. John Wadham were active in setting up the Winterbourne National School and his daughters were involved on the school's women's committee.

Thomas's son Edward Wadham (1828–1913), Mineral Agent to Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch took his skills as a civil engineer who had worked under Brunel and his love of cricket to Barrow-in-Furness where, from 1851 until his death in 1913, he played an important part in the development of what had been a tiny hamlet into the biggest iron and steel centre in the world, and a major shipbuilding force, in just forty years. [8]

Notable people

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. G. Grace</span> English cricketer (1848–1915)

William Gilbert Grace was an English cricketer who is widely considered one of the sport's all-time greatest players. Always known by his initials as "WG", his first-class career spanned a record-equalling 44 seasons from 1865 to 1908. Test cricket originated during his career, and he represented England in 22 matches from 1880 to 1899. In domestic cricket, he was mostly associated with Gloucestershire, the Gentlemen, Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), and the United South of England Eleven (USEE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Gloucestershire</span> Local government district in Gloucestershire, England

South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern part of its area falls within the Greater Bristol urban area surrounding the city of Bristol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winterbourne, Gloucestershire</span> Village in Gloucestershire, England

Winterbourne is a large village and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, lying just beyond the north fringe of Bristol. The parish of Winterbourne is centred on the village and includes the neighbouring communities of Winterbourne Down, Whiteshill, Hambrook, Frenchay and Watley's End. To the north-east is the village of Frampton Cotterell and to the west lies the town of Bradley Stoke. The parish had a population of 10,250 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Frome, Bristol</span> River in south west England

The Frome, historically the Froom, is a river that rises in Dodington Park, South Gloucestershire and flows southwesterly through Bristol to join the river Avon. It is approximately 20 miles (32 km) long, and the mean flow at Frenchay is 60 cubic feet per second (1.7 m3/s). The name Frome is shared with several other rivers in South West England and means 'fair, fine, brisk'. The river is known locally in east Bristol as the Danny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Downend, South Gloucestershire</span> Residential suburb of Greater Bristol, England

Downend is a residential suburb of Greater Bristol, England, the housing stock is typically terraced Victorian, 1930s and 1950s semi-detached and detached. It is in the South Gloucestershire local district, located to the northeast of Bristol and bordered by the Bristol City suburb of Fishponds, and the South Gloucestershire suburbs of Staple Hill, Frenchay, Mangotsfield, and Emersons Green. The community was formerly part of the parish of Mangotsfield. On 19 January 2020 The Sunday Times ran an article which named Downend as one of the UK's best suburbs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frampton Cotterell</span> Village and parish in Gloucestershire, England

Frampton Cotterell is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, on the River Frome. The village is contiguous with Winterbourne to the south-west and Coalpit Heath to the east. The parish borders Iron Acton to the north and Westerleigh to the south-east, the large town of Yate is 2 miles away. The village is 8 miles north-east of Bristol. The population of the village together with the adjoining village of Winterbourne was 14,694 in 2011. The population of the parish alone was 6,520 at the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">E. M. Grace</span> English cricketer

Edward Mills Grace was an English first-class cricketer in the second half of the 19th century who was an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling slow right arm underarm. He played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and was the elder brother of W. G. and Fred Grace. All three played for England against Australia in September 1880 two weeks before Fred Grace died. Always known by his initials, E. M. Grace controversially held amateur status but was criticised for the money he made by playing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hambrook</span> Village in South Gloucestershire, England

Hambrook is a village in the civil parish of Winterbourne, in the South Gloucestershire district, in Gloucestershire, England, situated on the north-eastern outskirts of the city of Bristol. It lies between the larger communities of Winterbourne and Frenchay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filton and Bradley Stoke (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2010 onwards

Filton and Bradley Stoke is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Claire Hazelgrove from the Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frenchay Hospital</span> Hospital in South Gloucestershire, England

Frenchay Hospital was a large hospital situated in Frenchay, South Gloucestershire, on the north east outskirts of Bristol, England, which is now closed. In 2014, it contracted to a few brain and head injuries services. It was managed by North Bristol NHS Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southmead Hospital</span> Hospital in Bristol, England

Southmead Hospital is a large public National Health Service hospital, situated in the area of Southmead, though in Horfield ward, in the northern suburbs of Bristol, England. It is part of the North Bristol NHS Trust. The 800-bed Brunel Building opened in May 2014, to provide services, which transferred from Frenchay Hospital in advance of its closure. The hospital site covers 60 acres (24 ha).

John Foster (1770–1843) was an English Baptist minister and essayist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frome Valley Walkway</span> Footpath in England

The Frome Valley Walkway is an 18-mile (29 km) footpath which follows the River Frome from the River Avon in the centre of Bristol to the Cotswold Hills in South Gloucestershire. The path also links the Cotswold Way National Trail at one end with the Avon Walkway at the other.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Storrs Fry</span>

Joseph Storrs Fry (1767–1835) was an English chocolate and confectionery manufacturer and a member of the Fry Family of Bristol, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackberry Hill Hospital</span> Hospital in Bristol, United Kingdom

Blackberry Hill Hospital is an NHS psychiatric hospital in Fishponds, Bristol, England, specialising in forensic mental health services, operated by the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. The hospital also offers drug and alcohol rehabilitation inpatient services, and is the base for a number of community mental health teams.

North Bristol NHS Trust is a National Health Service trust that provides community healthcare and hospital services to Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and North Somerset, England. The trust employs over 8,000 staff and delivers healthcare through several medical institutions, including Southmead Hospital, Cossham Hospital, and the Bristol Centre for Enablement, as well as through various community-based clinics. In addition, medical teaching facilities are provided in association with the University of the West of England, Bristol University, and the University of Bath.

Healthcare in the city of Bristol, England and the surrounding area is largely provided by the National Health Service (NHS). Until July 2022, this was provided through the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire clinical commissioning group. Facilities include a large teaching hospital – Bristol Royal Infirmary – which offers nationally commissioned specialist cardiac, cancer and children's services from its city-centre campus to patients in the southwest of England and beyond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Wadham</span>

Edward Wadham was appointed mineral agent to Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch in 1851 and later, steward of the Manor of Plain Furness. He kept detailed diaries throughout his adult life, now in the possession of the Cumbria Archive Service, many of which cover the growth and development of the town of Barrow-in-Furness, then in Lancashire now in Cumbria, England.

References

  1. flower show official website frenchayflowershow.com
  2. Burrough, THB (1970). Bristol. London: Studio Vista. ISBN   0-289-79804-3.
  3. See page 74, Winterbourne, Gloucestershire by C.H.B. Elliott, The History of Winterbourne, Winterbourne Down, Hambrook, and Frenchay, published by the Frenchay Tuckett Society 1999, ISBN   0-9528673-2-X
  4. "Frenchay Village Museum - Current Exhibits". Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012. Details can be found in the village museum
  5. p.74, Winterbourne, Gloucestershire by C.H.B. Elliott, ISBN   0-9528673-2-X
  6. "Frenchay-to-Southmead hospital move for A&E cases". BBC. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  7. Bristol Glass by Cleo Witt, Cyril Weeden and Arlene Palmer Schwind published in conjunction with City of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, pp. 35–60, ISBN   0-905459-56-3
  8. Wadham diaries held by the Cumbria Archive Service.