Totterdown | |
---|---|
Totterdown houses | |
Location within Bristol | |
OS grid reference | ST607712 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BRISTOL |
Postcode district | BS |
Dialling code | 0117 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Avon |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Totterdown is an inner-suburb of Bristol, England, situated just south of the River Avon and to the south-east of Temple Meads railway station and the city centre.
It rises relatively steeply from the river bank to a largely terraced Victorian housing area which is notable for its painted homes - often in bright colours - that can be seen from some distance.
There is a tight network of extremely steep roads in Upper Totterdown, of which Vale Street, although very short, is alleged to be the steepest residential road in England. [1] [2]
Built in the mid to late 19th century to house workers for the nearby railway industry, in the 1970s many of the Victorian buildings were demolished in anticipation of constructing a major junction of the Outer Circuit Road, although ultimately this section of the road was never built. [4]
Totterdown has more-recently become a popular area for the younger generation taking up work in the city centre. In 2016 it was named "fifth hippest place to live in the UK" by The Times newspaper. [5]
Totterdown has several local pubs some of which attract a younger clientele with DJ nights. [6] Pubs offering music include The Oxford, Shakespeare, New Found Out and the Thunderbolt [7] (previously known as "The Turnpike"). The Oxford has regular live music including "open mike" events and the Thunderbolt books local and national bands. There was another pub (formerly) the Cumberland which is known now as the Star and Dove. It closed in May 2017 for a short period however, reopened in December 2017.
Totterdown has a growing number of popular restaurants. Mrs Brown's Cafe opened in Victoria Park in 2007, serving Fairtrade coffee and cakes from a caravan. [8]
The area also has a Tesco Express, [9] a garage (repairs and MOTs), a convenience store called Patco Supermarket [10] which offers everything from groceries to key cutting, a chemist, an optician, a wine shop, a fruit and veg shop, various hairdressers and beauty treatment rooms as well as a doctors surgery, and is well served by buses into town and across to Clifton. There is also the Bristol Jamia Mosque [11] close to Victoria Park as well as thriving Methodist, CofE and Baptist churches. In 2015, an artisanal bakery [12] opened for business opposite the Oxford Pub on Oxford Street, replacing a long since closed Chinese restaurant. A number of new independent businesses have also opened along the Wells Road in recent times, including several cafes and a bar, a craft store, a vintage shop and a florist. [13]
Totterdown is popular with young families. There are daily toddler groups at Totterdown Baptist Church. Victoria Park has a good newish play area at the top of the park, as well as tennis courts, basketball courts, football pitches, skatepark, and more. [14] School Road Park has undergone a transformation and contains challenging play equipment for younger children including swings, slides, mini trampolines, and a sandpit. Perrett's Park is a natural amphitheatre with benches around the top along Bayham Road and Sylvia Avenue: [15] a place where the balloon ascent can be seen during the summer Balloon Fiesta. It also has a play area suitable for the under 10s.
The Totterdown Art trail Frontroom invites visitors into the houses of artists in this area of Bristol to view a large range of local artwork. [16]
Totterdown is believed to be the site of the Aldebury Iron Age hill fort behind Bellevue; however, the area is now built over. [17]
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. The county is in the West of England combined authority area, which includes the Greater Bristol area and nearby places such as Bath.
Bath is a city in the ceremonial county of Somerset, in England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, 97 miles (156 km) west of London and 11 miles (18 km) southeast of Bristol. The city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, and was later added to the transnational World Heritage Site known as the "Great Spa Towns of Europe" in 2021. Bath is also the largest city and settlement in Somerset.
Great Torrington is a market town in Devon, England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to the River Torridge below, with the lower-lying parts of the town prone to occasional flooding. Torrington is in the centre of Tarka Country, a landscape captured by Henry Williamson in his novel Tarka the Otter in 1927. Great Torrington has one of the most active volunteering communities in the United Kingdom.
The River Avon is a river in the southwest of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is loaned from an ancestor of the Welsh word afon, meaning 'river'.
Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) is a unitary authority district in Somerset, South West England. Bath and North East Somerset Council was created on 1 April 1996 following the abolition of the county of Avon. It is part of the ceremonial county of Somerset.
Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of 70 acres. It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out permanently. A tidal by-pass was dug for 2 miles through the fields of Bedminster for the river, known as the "River Avon New Cut", "New Cut", or simply "The Cut". It is often called the Floating Harbour as the water level remains constant and it is not affected by the state of the tide on the river in the Avon Gorge, The New Cut or the natural river southeast of Temple Meads to its source.
Knowle is a district and council ward in south east Bristol, England, bordered by Filwood Park to the west, Brislington to the east, Whitchurch and Hengrove to the south and Totterdown to the north. The settlement was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Canole. Knowle comes from the old English word for hillock, which means a little hill.
Bedminster, colloquially known as Bemmy, is a district of Bristol, England, on the south side of the city. It is also the name of a council ward which includes the central part of the district.
Spike Island is an inner city and harbour area of the English port city of Bristol, adjoining the city centre. It comprises the strip of land between the Floating Harbour to the north and the tidal New Cut of the River Avon to the south, from the dock entrance to the west to Bathurst Basin in the east. The island forms part of Cabot ward. The area between the Docks and New cut to the east of Bathurst Basin is in the neighbourhoods of Redcliffe and St Philip's Marsh.
Paulton is a large village and civil parish, with a population of 5,302, located to the north of the Mendip Hills, very close to Norton Radstock in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset (BANES), England.
Brickhill is a civil parish and electoral ward within northern Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.
The River Biss is a small river in Wiltshire, England and is a tributary of the Bristol Avon. The name is of uncertain origin; it is claimed that the word is from the Old Norse bisa, meaning "to strive".
The English city of Bristol has a number of parks and public open spaces.
St Philip's Marsh is an industrial inner suburb of Bristol, England. It is bounded by River Avon and Harbour feeder canal making it an almost island area, unlike the other two areas surrounded by water, it was historically part of Gloucestershire and is part of North Bristol. The site is home of Avonmeads Retail Park, a large retail and leisure park with Showcase Cinemas and a Hollywood Bowl ten-pin bowling centre among its tenants. It was extensively redeveloped in the 15 years to 2007.
The Cumberland Basin is the main entrance to the docks of the city of Bristol, England. It separates the areas of Hotwells from the tip of Spike Island.
Brislington East is a council ward of the city of Bristol, England. The ward covers the eastern part of Brislington and the areas of Bristol known as Broom Hill, St Anne's and St Anne's Park.
The New Cut is an artificial waterway which was constructed between 1804 and 1809 to divert the tidal river Avon through south and east Bristol, England. This was part of the process of constructing Bristol's Floating Harbour, under the supervision of engineer William Jessop. The cut runs from Totterdown Basin at the eastern end of St Phillip's Marsh, near Temple Meads, to the Underfall sluices at Rownham in Hotwells and rejoining the original course of the tidal Avon.
The Bristol Jamia Mosque is a mosque in the Totterdown area of Bristol. It was the first mosque in Bristol and is currently the largest in the south west of England. The building was formerly a disused church that was bought and converted into a mosque in 1968. It has since been embellished with a dome and minaret.
The Bristol Feeder Canal is a body of water in Bristol, England, that connects the Floating Harbour with the River Avon.
The Bristol Bridges Walk is a circular hiking route that is linked to the Königsberg bridge problem, a mathematical puzzle, which laid the foundation for graph theory, the mathematical study of networks. The Bristol Bridges Walk presents a solution of the puzzle for the city of Bristol. Its route leads the walker through different quarters of the city, the Avon Gorge and Leigh Woods. Along the way it crosses 45 bridges including Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol Bridge, and Avonmouth Bridge. The walk featured in various charity fundraisers of which the Bristol Giving Day 2019 is perhaps the most notable.