Stoke Gifford | |
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![]() St Michael's Church | |
Location within Gloucestershire | |
Population | 19,794 (2021 Census, before parish boundary changes) [1] |
OS grid reference | ST621799 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BRISTOL |
Postcode district | BS34 |
Dialling code | 01454, 0117 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Avon |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Stoke Gifford is a neighbourhood and parish and electoral ward in South Gloucestershire, England. Formerly a separate village, it is now a suburb in the Bristol built-up area, part of the city's North Fringe. [3] The ward had 14,200 residents in 5,788 households at the 2021 Census. [4]
It is served by Bristol Parkway railway station and is home to Stoke Gifford depot, on the London-South Wales railway line. To the south, it is served by the Bristol Ring Road.
Several major employers and office parks are located in Stoke Gifford, including the Bristol offices of Aviva which took over Friends Life in 2015. [5] The Stoke Gifford area is also home to the main campus of the University of the West of England, and offices of Hewlett-Packard and MOD Abbey Wood, although since 2023 parish boundary changes these are now in the Stoke Park and Cheswick parish. [6]
The parish includes the neighbourhoods of Little Stoke and Harry Stoke. It borders Filton, to the south-west, Patchway to the north west, Bradley Stoke to the north, Winterbourne and Hambrook to the east, and Cheswick to the south. [5]
Following the Norman Invasion of 1066, William the Conqueror gave the manor of Stoke Gifford to Osbern Giffard, one of his knights. [7] Giffard himself was a native of Longueville-le-Giffard, Normandy, now known as Longueville-sur-Scie, from which the 'Gifford' suffix derives. The 'Stoke' part of the name may come from the Stoke Brook, or may also be a reference to the Saxon word 'Stoche' meaning 'property of or dependent farmstead'. Bradley Stoke and Stoke Lodge, both 20th-century estates, were also given the name. Extensive histories of Stoke Gifford can be found online. [8] [9]
The manor remained in the Giffard family until 1337, when it was granted to Maurice de Berkeley (died 1347), 2nd son of Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (1271–1326). Thus was founded the long and distinguished cadet branch of "Berkeley of Stoke Gifford". In 1553 a new late-Tudor manor house was built by Sir Richard Berkeley (died 1604), 7th in descent from Maurice de Berkeley (died 1347). It became known as Stoke Park, and was rebuilt in 1750 by Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt (died 1770), from a neo-classical design by Thomas Wright.
Like much of the nearby area, Stoke Gifford saw rapid population expansion in the late 20th century. [10] Before the 1980s Stoke Gifford was just a small village, straggling along the main street, North Road. In 1987 it was designated for urban expansion, alongside neighbouring Bradley Stoke, as part of the Avon County Council Structural Plan and Northavon Local Plan.
In 2023, following an increase in housing and population in the south of the parish, it was divided into two, with the southern part becoming a new parish of Stoke Park and Cheswick. [6]
Year | Population |
---|---|
2001 | 10,951 |
2011 | 15,494 |
2021 | 19,794 |
The area falls in the Stoke Gifford electoral ward. This ward starts in the east at Winterbourne.
The Church of England parish church of St Michael's is a Grade II* listed building. [11]
There is a row of shops on Ratcliffe Drive including a Tesco Express, dentist and medical centre and few more shops on one of the roads off North Road. There is a pub, the Beaufort Arms, and a small coffee shop in the Old School Rooms across The Green from the church. There are several large supermarkets within walking distance.[ citation needed ]
Local children walk or cycle to nearby St Michael's C of E Primary School & Abbeywood Community School,[ citation needed ] while the church runs a pre-school nursery in the old vicarage.[ citation needed ] In 2008, a new pre-school and Nursery opened adjacent to Bristol Parkway because of population increases in the surrounding areas.[ citation needed ] The Old School Rooms hosts the Explorer Scouts, Scouts, Cub Scouts, Beaver Scouts and Brownies.[ citation needed ]
The area has two parks, each with children's play equipment, and a pair of tennis courts. South of Stoke Gifford is Bristol's Stoke Park, part of a large green area known as the 'Green Lung'.
Stoke Gifford Parish Council provoked national interest and condemnation in April 2016 when they resolved to charge parkrun runners a fee to use a park, [12] resulting in the closure of the event in June 2016. [13]
Stoke Gifford Cricket Club has won the Bristol & District 30 over cricket league a record three times in 2018, 2021 and 2022. [14]
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.
Bradley Stoke is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, situated 6 miles north-northeast of Bristol city centre. The town is the northernmost part of the Bristol built-up area.
Winterbourne is a large village in South Gloucestershire, England, situated just beyond the north fringe of Bristol. The village had a population of 8,965 according to the 2011 census. This has risen to 10,250 at the 2021 Census. The civil parish of Winterbourne is centred on the village and includes the neighbouring communities of Winterbourne Down, Hambrook and Frenchay. To the north-east is the village of Frampton Cotterell and to the west lies the town of Bradley Stoke.
Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, 6 miles (10 km) north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton Church dates back to the 12th century and is designated a Grade II listed building.
Patchway is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, situated 6 mi (9.7 km) north-north west of central Bristol. The town has become an overflow settlement for Bristol and is contiguous with Bristol's urban area, along with the nearby towns of Filton and Bradley Stoke.
Little Stoke is a village in the parish of Stoke Gifford, situated in South Gloucestershire, England. It is surrounded by Patchway, Stoke Gifford and Bradley Stoke. Home to Patchway railway station, a minor stop on the railway network, the railway line separates Little Stoke from the large Rolls-Royce factories in nearby Filton. Gipsy Patch Lane Bridge provides access under the line.
Bristol North West is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2017 by Darren Jones of the Labour Party.
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.
Harry Stoke is a village in the parish of Stoke Gifford, South Gloucestershire, England.
Tormarton is a village and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. The village is about half a mile north of the M4 motorway; the A46 road towards Bath passes a similar distance west of the village to join the motorway at junction 18. The parish includes the small village of West Littleton, south of the motorway. The parish population at the 2021 census was 323. The Cotswold Way footpath passes through the village.
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.
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.
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.
Longueville-sur-Scie is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France.
Louise Anne Harris is a Liberal Democrat politician who has served as a councillor on South Gloucestershire Council for Dodington since November 2018. As Louise Bloom, she was a member of the first London Assembly between 2000 and 2002, and councillor on Eastleigh Borough Council between 2002 and 2017.
Cheswick is a new village bridging the South Gloucestershire and Bristol borders. It straddles the boundaries of Stoke Gifford, Filton and Lockleaze and lies close to the major employment sites of the University of the West of England (UWE), MoD Abbey Wood and Hewlett Packard. The development has three points of motor vehicular access: From Coldharbour Lane, just south of the UWE East Entrance, and two bus and cycle only routes from the Abbey Wood Roundabout on the A4174 Avon Ring Road and from Lockleaze.
Osbern Giffard was one of the knights who invaded England in 1066 under William the Conqueror. He was rewarded with holdings throughout Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Wiltshire and Somerset. He settled in Brimpsfield, Gloucestershire, where he built a castle which was destroyed by Edward II in 1322. It is believed that the Gloucestershire village of Stoke Gifford is named after him. Giffard's nephew Walter became the 1st Earl of Buckingham.
Sir Richard Berkeley of Stoke Gifford, Gloucestershire was MP for Gloucestershire in 1604. He had previously served as Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1564, and as Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1568. In 1595 he was appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London. In 1599 he was appointed custodian of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, who was kept under house arrest at Essex House in London. He died in 1604, whilst serving as MP, and was buried in The Gaunts Chapel, Bristol, where exists an effigy of him, which chapel had been founded in 1220 by Maurice de Gaunt, a member of the Berkeley family, and which stands opposite St Augustine's Abbey, founded by a member of the Berkeley family of nearby Berkeley Castle.