Stoke Park, Bristol | |
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Location | Bristol |
OS grid | ST 61590 77051 |
Coordinates | 51°29′28″N2°33′17″W / 51.49109°N 2.55462°W |
Area | 108 hectares (270 acres) |
Stoke Park is a public open space of 108 hectares (270 acres) in Bristol, England. It occupies a prominent position on the eastern flanks of Purdown, alongside the M32 motorway, together with the landmark Dower House and Purdown transmitter. [1] Approximately 80% of the park is within the Bristol ward of Lockleaze; the remainder is within South Gloucestershire. [2]
Bristol City Council plan to extend cattle grazing throughout the park between April and November 2018 to stop the spread of invasive scrub and as an educational resource. [3] There has been some public opposition to developments in the park. Petitions have opposed the felling of hundreds of trees in a stretch of young woodland and the construction of a 3m wide path which could stretch for nearly 2km across the park's meadows.[ citation needed ]
The Dower House is one of Bristol's more prominent landmarks, set on a hill above the M32 motorway on the main approach into the city, and painted yellow. The house was built in 1553 by Sir Richard Berkeley. It has also been used as part of Stoke Park Hospital. The house closed as a hospital in 1985, and has been converted into flats.
Within Stoke Park are two small lakes, the largest of which is Duchess Pond. It is used for angling and also supports breeding birds which are scarce elsewhere in Bristol, for example, reed warbler and reed bunting; in addition, an Egyptian goose was seen here in 2006 and a bittern in 2014. [4]
Several aspects of the house and estate are listed. The house is Grade II* listed. [5] The balustraded terrace, the Orangery, the remains of the obelisk, and the Broomhill Gate are all Grade II listed. The woods contain the Beaufort Memorial, the cold bath, a stone tunnel, and a partially derelict stone tunnel with rusticated entrance arches, all also Grade II listed. [6]
The site was first established in 1939 to hold mobile anti-aircraft guns, but was converted to a permanent concrete reinforced battery in June 1940. Manned by the Royal artillery regiment, the site included octagonal gun emplacements, integral ammunition bays and shelters with surrounding blast walls as well as a command post. [7] Most of the structures survive and are still clearly observable.
The M32 is a 4.4-mile-long (7.1 km) 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.
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.
Portsdown Hill is a long chalk ridge in Hampshire, England. The highest point of the hill lies within Fort Southwick at 131 m above sea level. The ridge offers good views to the south over Portsmouth, the Solent, Hayling Island and Gosport, with the Isle of Wight beyond. The hill is on the mainland, just to the north of Ports Creek, which separates the mainland from Portsea Island, on which lies the main part of the city of Portsmouth, one of the United Kingdom's main naval bases. To the north lies the Forest of Bere, with the South Downs visible in the distance. Butser Hill can be seen on a clear day. The hill is formed from an inlier of chalk which has been brought to the surface by an east–west upfold of the local strata known as the Portsdown Anticline.
Lockleaze is an area and council ward in the northern suburbs of the city of Bristol, England, 3 miles (5 km) north of the city centre, south of Filton, east of Horfield and west of Frenchay.
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.
Stapleton is an area in the northeastern suburbs of the city of Bristol, England. The name is colloquially used today to describe the ribbon village along Bell Hill and Park Road in the Frome Valley. It borders Eastville to the South and Begbrook and Frenchay to the North. It comprises an eclectic mix of housing mainly from the Victorian, Edwardian, inter-war and late 20th century periods.
Glenside campus is the home of the Faculty of Health and Applied Sciences at the University of the West of England, in Bristol. It is located on Blackberry Hill in the suburb of Fishponds. Its clocktower is a prominent landmark, visible from the M32 motorway. Several of the buildings on the site are Grade II listed.
Purdown BT Tower, also known as Purdown Transmitter, is a 70.1 metres (230 ft) tall telecommunications tower in Bristol, England. Built in 1970 for the British Telecom microwave network, it is now used to transmit radio and provide mobile phone coverage.
Whitfield Barracks were barracks in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was named after Henry Wase Whitfield, who was appointed commander of the British Army in Hong Kong in 1869. The area is now the site of Kowloon Park, where four reconverted barrack blocks and parts of the former Kowloon West II Battery remain.
Stoke Bishop is an outer suburban neighbourhood and an electoral ward in the north-west of Bristol, England. Bordered by The Downs and the River Trym, it is located between Westbury-on-Trym, Sneyd Park and Sea Mills. Although relatively low, Stoke Bishop's population has significantly increased in recent years due to the infilling of former school and company playing fields. Moreover, the population of Stoke Bishop varies throughout the year because of the influx of students during term time to the large campus of Bristol University halls of residence situated on the edge of The Downs.
The English city of Bristol has a number of parks and public open spaces.
Dodington Park is a country house and estate in Dodington, South Gloucestershire, England. The house was built by James Wyatt for Christopher Bethell Codrington. The family had made their fortune from sugar plantations in the Caribbean and were significant owners of slaves. It remained in the Codrington family until 1980; it is now owned by the British businessman James Dyson.
The North Fringe of Bristol, England is a mostly developed area between the northern edge of the administrative city of Bristol and the M4 and M5 motorways. Its eastern edge is usually defined as the M32 motorway. The area falls within South Gloucestershire Council, and is the northern part of Greater Bristol.
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 Three Brooks Nature Reserve is a Local Nature Reserve of approximately 44 hectares in Bradley Stoke, South Gloucestershire, England. It is named after the Hortham, Patchway, and Stoke Brooks which run through it, meeting at Three Brooks Lake before flowing eastwards back under the M4 motorway as Bradley Brook.
The Dower House, Stoke Park is a dower house in Bristol, England. It is one of Bristol's more prominent landmarks, set on Purdown, a hill above the M32 motorway on the main approach into the city, and painted yellow.
Stoke Park Hospital, was a large hospital for the mental handicapped, closed circa 1997, situated on the north-east edge of Bristol, England, just within South Gloucestershire. Most patients were long-term residents, both adults and children of all ages. A school was on-site. Prior to 1950, it was known as the Stoke Park Colony, which was founded in 1909.
MetroBus is a bus rapid transit system in Bristol, England, created as a joint project between Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire councils. The first route, service m3, began operations on 29 May 2018, followed by m2 on 3 September 2018, m1 on 6 January 2019 and m4 on 22 January 2023.
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.
Oldbury Court Estate is a park in Fishponds, Bristol, about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of the city centre.