![]() Stokes Croft in 2009 at night | |
Part of | A38 |
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Length | 0.2 mi (0.32 km) |
Coordinates | 51°27′43″N2°35′24″W / 51.462°N 2.59°W |
Other | |
Known for |
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.
The road became a centre of industry during the mid-19th century, including the Carriage Works. The area was damaged by aerial bombing during the Bristol Blitz in World War II, and was subsequently blighted by a plan to widen this part of the A38, but in more recent times it has rebuilt itself as a centre of art, music and counter-cultural lifestyle. Banksy's mural The Mild Mild West is on Stokes Croft. A protest was held in response to the opening of a Tesco Express on Cheltenham Road, which developed into a riot after opposition by the police. Later investigations suggested that frustration toward the new shop was entwined with other local tensions brought on by years of bad financial management by Bristol City Council.
The road is around 0.2 miles (0.32 km) long and begins as a continuation of North Street, immediately north of Bristol city centre. At the junction with Ashley Road, it then becomes Cheltenham Road, followed by Gloucester Road. The road forms part of the A38, which was once a main road north of Bristol, though long-distance traffic now takes other routes. [1]
Stokes Croft forms the boundary between the districts of Kingsdown and St Paul's and comes under the BS1 postcode. [2]
The road takes its name from John Stokes, mayor of Bristol in the late 14th century. [3] [4] His will recorded the area as "Berewykse Croft in Redeland", while the will of Nicholas Excestre, who died in 1434, named it "formerly John Stoke's close (ibid.)". [5] It runs through the historic manor of Barton, which was recorded in the Domesday Book and part of the City of Bristol since 1373. [4]
Stokes Croft was predominantly rural until around 1700, being mainly used for market gardening. Urban development was first logged in the parish records of 1678, while St James Square, to the west of Stokes Croft, was laid out by around 1710. [5] John Roque's map of Bristol 1750 shows the area built up and running north of a central courtyard between Stokes Croft, North Street and Wilder Street. [4] Though industries were established on Stokes Croft during the 18th century, the road was not fully developed and built-up until around 1850. Construction of the Carriage Works at No. 104 began in 1859, [5] while the City Road Baptist Church was built in 1861. [6]
The area was damaged badly in World War II, with many buildings destroyed on Stokes Croft and King Square. [7] Postwar redevelopment was slow, as Bristol City Council tended to concentrate on building offices to the south, closer to the city centre, and social housing to the north, towards Gloucester Road. Development was also affected by a postwar plan to widen Stokes Croft and Cheltenham Road into a dual carriageway. [8] Owing to the lack of large-scale development, small and independent businesses set up on Stokes Croft, which contributed to the bohemian character of the street. [5] In the 1960s, the completion of the M32 motorway meant that Stokes Croft was no longer the main road from Bristol City centre northwards. [9]
Stokes Croft also refers to an area around the road as an informal district between Kingsdown and St Paul's in Bristol, including Jamaica Street and the southern part of Cheltenham Road. It is not an official area of Bristol, but rather a nickname given by locals. [9] The area is a centre of art, music and independent shops in Bristol, [10] with clubs such as the Crofters Rights, Lakota and the Love Inn; the nearby music college BIMM Bristol on King Square; numerous pieces of graffiti art and one of Bristol's oldest musical instrument stores in Mickleburgh Musical Instruments Ltd. [11] The area’s character has given rise to a group of activists and artists calling themselves The People's Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC), who are seeking to revitalise the area through community action and public art. [12]
Today the area is known for its derelict housing, squats, anarchist activity, counterculture and alternative nightlife. The Carriage Works has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building, and was regenerated as a mixed-use residential and commercial development in 2022. [13]
In 2006 a Heritage Lottery Fund grant was obtained by Bristol City Council to help overturn the decline in economic activity and environmental quality and a rise in social problems seen in the area since the 1970s. [14]
At the junction of Stokes Croft and Jamaica Street is a large mural,"The Mild Mild West", painted in 1998 by Banksy. It depicts a teddybear lobbing a Molotov cocktail at three riot police. [15] In 2007 the mural was voted Alternative Landmark of Bristol. [16]
The attraction of Stokes Croft has brought up property prices in the area, with a typical terraced house costing around £250,000 – £350,000. [17] A 2015 report in The Sunday Times suggested that Stokes Croft was one of the best urban areas to live in the South West. [18]
In 1837, rioting broke out after the annual St James Fair in Stoke's Croft was cancelled, following continual complaints from local landowners about excessive drinking, gambling and prostitution. [19]
In April 2011, the local community protested against the opening of a new Tesco Express store at 138–142 Cheltenham Road, just north of Stokes Croft, spearheaded by the group, "No Tesco In Stokes Croft". [20] In anticipation of demonstrations of the new store, which opened on 15 April, Tesco had put in place additional security measures. [21] Various protests took place outside and inside the store during the seven days after its low-key opening. Although most protesters were peaceful, a minority threw paint and urinated on the shopfront. [19] [22]
On 21 April the police evicted squatters from a property opposite the store (known as 'Telepathic Heights'). This action led to a riot involving many people and lasting for much of the night, during which the shop-front of the Tesco Store was damaged and some looting took place. [23] Further confrontations between police and protesters occurred in the early hours of 29 April.
Bradley Stoke is a town 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.
The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol Road and Gloucester Road, is a major A-class trunk road in England.
The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley. It continues past Bromsgrove, Droitwich Spa, Worcester, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Bristol, Portishead, Clevedon, Weston-super-Mare, Bridgwater, Taunton, Tiverton, Cullompton terminating at junction 31 for Exeter. Congestion on the section south of the M4 is common during the summer holidays, on Friday afternoons and bank holidays.
Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams combine dark humour with graffiti executed in a distinctive stenciling technique. His works of political and social commentary have appeared on streets, walls, and bridges throughout the world. His work grew out of the Bristol underground scene, which involved collaborations between artists and musicians. Banksy says that he was inspired by 3D, a graffiti artist and founding member of the musical group Massive Attack.
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 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.
St Pauls 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, the B4051, the A4032 and the A4044, although the River Frome was traditionally the eastern boundary before A4032 was constructed. St Pauls was laid out in the early 18th century as one of Bristol's first suburbs.
Pontarddulais, also known as Pontardulais, is both a community and a town in Swansea, Wales. It is 10 miles (16 km) northwest of the city centre. The Pontarddulais ward is part of the City and County of Swansea. Pontarddulais adjoins the village of Hendy in Carmarthenshire. The built-up population was 9,073.
Cabot was a council ward that covered the centre of Bristol, England. It took its name from the Cabot Tower, a memorial tower on Brandon Hill that was built to commemorate John Cabot's voyage and "discovery" of North America. The ward was abolished in 2016.
Stoke Lodge is a suburb of Bristol, England, developed in the 1950s and early 1960s on farmland to the south of Patchway Common, South Gloucestershire and east of the A38 trunk road. Although the busy London to South Wales railway forms the south-western boundary of the estate, the sound of the trains is moderated by the railway tracks being within a cutting. The new town of Bradley Stoke lies immediately to the east, whilst the suburb of Little Stoke is on its southern edge.
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.
The Bristol riots refer to a number of significant riots in the city of Bristol in England.
Gloucester Road is a road in Bristol, England. It runs through the suburbs of St. Andrew's, Bishopston and Horfield and is a part of the A38, a former coaching route north of Bristol to Filton and the M5 Motorway.
The People's Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC) is a community organisation based in the Stokes Croft area of Bristol, England. It was launched 22 September 2007, by founding member Chris Chalkley.
In early August 2011, England was struck by riots, the worst in the country in decades. The timeline of the events of the riots spanned from 6–10 August.
The Mild Mild West is a 1999 mural by graffiti artist Banksy, sited on No. 80 Stokes Croft, Bristol. It depicts a teddy bear throwing a Molotov cocktail at three riot police.
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.
Westmoreland House was a building at Nos. 104–106 Stokes Croft, Bristol, next door to the Carriage Works.
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