St Paul's | |
---|---|
Location within Bristol | |
OS grid reference | ST596742 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BRISTOL |
Postcode district | BS2 |
Dialling code | 0117 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Avon |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
St Pauls (also written St Paul's) is an inner suburb of Bristol, England, situated just northeast of the city centre and west of the M32. It is bounded by the A38 (Stokes Croft), the B4051 (Ashley Road), the A4032 (Newfoundland Way) and the A4044 (Newfoundland Street), although the River Frome was traditionally the eastern boundary before A4032 was constructed. [1] St Pauls was laid out in the early 18th century as one of Bristol's first suburbs.
In the 1870s the Brooks Dye Works opened on the edge of St Paul's and became a major local employer, leading to the construction of terraced houses. [2] Together with migration to Bristol, both from overseas and within Britain, this led to St Pauls becoming a densely populated suburb by the Victorian era. [3]
The area was bomb damaged during World War II. Rebuilding and investment was focused on new housing estates such as Hartcliffe and Southmead rather than St Paul's, and this contributed to a decline in the quality of the area. During the large-scale immigration of the 1950s, many people moved from Jamaica and Ireland, and settled in St Paul's. [4] [5]
In 1963 St Paul's became the focus of attention when members of the British African-Caribbean community organised the Bristol Bus Boycott to protest against the racist employment policy of the Bristol Omnibus Company which operated a colour bar, refusing employment to non-white workers as bus crews. This policy was overturned in August of that year after sixty days of protest and the action helped establish the Race Relations Act 1968. [6]
A riot followed a police raid on the Black and White Café in St Paul's on 2 April 1980. The St Pauls riot started when the police entered the café, knowing that the premises was being used for drug dealing. A customer had his trousers ripped and demanded compensation, which the police refused. A crowd outside then refused to allow the police to leave, and when back-up was called a riot started. [7] The riots were quickly blamed on race, but both white and black youths from both Irish and Jamaican backgrounds and some English fought against the police and the problems are thought to have been linked instead to poverty and perceived social injustices, predominantly the Sus law and anti-Irish feelings from IRA activity on the mainland.
In 1990 a St Paul's black politician Kuomba Balogun, Chairman of the Bristol West Labour Party, was reported in the Bristol Evening Post of 2 February, as saying: "We make a public plea to the IRA to consider ways of strongly giving some assistance to the armed wing of the ANC in the same light as Colonel Gaddafi sought to assist in the liberation of the people of Ireland." An Early Day Motion was presented in Parliament calling on him to be expelled from the Labour Party. [8]
This area of the city has also suffered its share of gun violence, reaching a high point in the early 2000s (decade) when rival Jamaican Yardie and drug gangs such as the British Aggi Crew fought turf wars over territory. [9] The drugs war between the rival feuding factions was extinguished following en masse arrests of both the Yardies and the home-grown Aggi Crew, with many of the foreign drug dealers being deported back to Jamaica.
The Black and White Café was closed in March 2005, and has been demolished to make way for houses after a compulsory purchase order. Now the area is experiencing a positive urban renewal with the St Paul's Unlimited scheme.
St Paul's has a large African-Caribbean population. The relative poverty of the area has created a strong community spirit shown in the St Pauls Carnival, similar to the Notting Hill Carnival in London. It has been run annually since 1967 except for a hiatus in 2015–17, [10] and by 2006 attracted an average of 40,000 people each year. [11] This is a vibrant parade with local primary schools and community groups joining in. [12]
The main parks are St Agnes Park and St Paul's Park, together with Portland and Brunswick squares. Other green spaces include Grosvenor Road Triangle and Dalrymple Road Park. A footbridge over the A4032 allows access to nearby Riverside Park, alongside the Frome.
Many of the buildings in St Pauls are Georgian period, with Portland Square and St Paul's Church as particularly fine examples of Georgian architecture in the area. Both were designed by Daniel Hague although the original St Pauls Church was to be designed by James Allen in a Greek style. Work was started on the church in 1789 and completed in 1794. [13] Edward William Godwin, a famous Victorian architect, lived at Portland Square. In 2005 the church was converted into its present form as the home of 'Circomedia', [14] a circus school.
In May 2007 proposals were announced to build about 753,000 square feet (70,000 m2) net of homes, offices and businesses, in the St Pauls area. The development, if approved, may include a 600 ft (180 m), 40-storey, tower next to the M32 motorway as a new entrance to the city. The tower would be a similar shape to the Swiss Re "gherkin" tower in London. [15]
St Pauls is part of the Ashley ward of Bristol City Council, along with St Agnes, St Andrews, Montpelier and St Werburghs. [16] Ashley ward is represented by three elected councillors on Bristol City Council. [17]
Brixton is a district in South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century as communications with central London improved.
The M32 is a 4.42 miles (7.11 km) long motorway in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, England. It provides a link from the M4, a major motorway linking London and South Wales, to Bristol city centre and is maintained by National Highways, the national roads body.
St. Werburgh's is an area in north-east central Bristol, England. It is surrounded by the M32 motorway.
Chapeltown is a suburb of north-east Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England. It is part of the Leeds City Council Ward of Chapel Allerton. It is approximately one mile north of Leeds city centre.
Horfield is a suburb of the city of Bristol, in southwest England. It lies on Bristol's northern edge, its border with Filton marking part of the boundary between Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Bishopston lies directly to the south. Monks Park and Golden Hill are to the west. Lockleaze and Ashley Down are on the eastern fringe. The Gloucester Road (A38) runs north–south through the suburb.
Easton is an inner city area of the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom. Informally the area is considered to stretch east of Bristol city centre and the M32 motorway, centred on Lawrence Hill. Its southern and eastern borders are less defined, merging into St Philip's Marsh and Eastville. The area includes the Lawrence Hill and Barton Hill estates.
Ashley is one of thirty-five council wards in the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom. The ward contains the areas of Baptist Mills, Montpelier, St Andrew's, St Paul's and St Werburgh's. The Ward has over 16,000 residents and is served by one community magazine and a resident-led organisational body called 'Vocalise'.
The English city of Bristol has a number of parks and public open spaces.
The Black and White Café was a café in St Pauls, Bristol, in the United Kingdom, that opened in 1971, owned by the Wilks family. The Caribbean food café had a reputation as a drug den and was raided more times by the police than any other premises in the country.
The St Pauls riot occurred in St Pauls, Bristol, England on 2 April 1980 when police raided the Black and White Café on Grosvenor Road in the heart of the area. After several hours of disturbance in which fire engines and police cars were damaged, 130 people were arrested, 25 were taken to hospital, including 19 police and members of the press.
The Bristol riots refer to a number of significant riots in the city of Bristol in England.
St Paul's Church, a redundant church, gives its name to the surrounding St Paul's area of Bristol, England. It was built in the 1790s but fell into disuse and disrepair by its closure in 1988. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.
Portland Square is a Grade I listed square in the St Paul's area of Bristol.
The Trinity Centre is a community arts centre and independent live music venue.The building has been managed by Trinity Community Arts Ltd. since 2003 and was formerly the Holy Trinity Church, in the Parish of St Philip and St Jacob, Bristol, UK.
Stokes Croft is a road in Bristol, England. It is part of the A38, a main road north of the city centre. Locals refer to the area around the road by the same name.
Circomedia is a school for contemporary circus and physical theatre based in Bristol, England. The school offers a variety of training courses and workshops that teach circus skills in the context of physical theatre, performance and creativity.
The Aggi Crew were a criminal drug gang based in the St Paul's district of Bristol. The name of the gang is an abbreviation of aggravated burglary according to its former leader.
St. Paul's Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival held, usually on the first Saturday of July, in St. Paul's, Bristol, England. The celebration began in 1968 as the St. Paul's Festival, in order to improve relationships between the European, African, Caribbean, and Asian inhabitants of the area.
St Jude's is a mixed residential, commercial and light industrial area of central Bristol, England. St Jude's forms part of the Lawrence Hill ward of Bristol City Council.
The Premier Inn Bristol City Centre (Haymarket) Hotel, formerly known as Avon House, is an 18-storey building, one of the tallest structures in central Bristol, England. It is situated adjacent to The Bearpit roundabout.