Yate | |
---|---|
Clockwise from top: Yate shopping centre, Poole Court, Stanshawes Court, Townscape and St Mary's Church | |
Location within Gloucestershire | |
Population | 23,703 (2021 Census) [1] |
OS grid reference | ST7182 |
Civil parish |
|
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BRISTOL |
Postcode district | BS37 |
Dialling code | 01454 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Avon |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Yate is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. It lies just to the southwest of the Cotswold Hills and is 12 miles (19 kilometres) northeast of Bristol and 12 miles (19 kilometres) from Bath.
Developing from a small village into a town from the 1950s onwards, the 2011 census listed Yate's parish population as 21,789. [2] The market town of Chipping Sodbury (population 5,045) is contiguous with Yate to the east. In addition, a large southern section of the built-up area spills over into the parish of Dodington (population 8,206), and as a result, the total population of Yate's urban area is estimated at 35,000.
Yate is located to the northeast of Bristol, which is 12 miles (19 kilometres) away by road. Yate is surrounded by a vast amount of countryside and is situated to the south-west of the Cotswolds. The A432 is the main road through Yate and runs through the centre of the town. [3]
The first mention of Yate is the existence of a religious house in about AD 770; Yate is also mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The name is derived from the Old English word giete or gete, meaning 'a gateway into a forest area'. [4]
During the Anglo-Saxon period and well into medieval times, most of this part of south Gloucestershire was covered with forest. Through the centuries the land was cleared for farming.
The town's parish church, St Mary's, [5] dates from Norman times. It was altered during the 15th century and was extensively restored in 1970. St Mary's Primary School, [6] situated outside the churchyard walls, was built on the site of a former poorhouse.
It was the opening of the railway station in 1844, as part of Bristol and Gloucester Railway, that established Yate, with Station Road becoming the central thoroughfare. The cattle and produce markets were held around this road, and businesses were established there. Yate railway station was closed by the Beeching cuts in January 1965, but was reopened in May 1989; [7] the Brunel-built engine shed is preserved nearby.
Major growth in Yate started in the early 1920s with the construction of the Moorland Road estates behind Station Road, close to the Parnall aeroplane factory. In the 1950s the Ridge housing estate was developed. The area between these estates was still being mined for celestine and therefore could not be built on until the mineral had been extracted.
In the 1960s Yate was designated as a development area and the building boom began. The creation of a new town included a large retail shopping area, sports and leisure development together with public buildings. [8]
In the 1960s the area around Stanshawes was exhausted of celestine and the housing boom started with the major construction taking place in the south. Much of this development was planned using the Radburn model, a design that created a vehicle-free environment by the use of green spaces and linking paths at the front of the houses. This model was used until the late 1980s and early 1990s, when the planners reverted to traditional street design methods for the development of the remainder of North Yate, Brimsham Park and the Newmans factory site.
When a secondary school was built in the late 1970s, it was supposed to be called Brinsham Green School, after Brinsham Lane at nearby Yate Rocks. Owing to a spelling error, however, it was in fact called Brimsham Green School. [9] The town further expanded in the 1990s and 2000s with the construction of housing at North Yate. This housing estate continued to use the corrupted name of Brimsham. To locals the area is known as Brimsham Park.
During the Second World War, a railway transfer yard was constructed for the United States Army, probably as part of Operation Bolero to assist the buildup of troops and stores before D-Day. Two large storage sheds survived on the site until 2008.
At the end of the Second World War, the site was taken over by the Royal Navy and became known as the Sea Transport Stores Depot. It was occupied by the Highways Agency until the sheds were demolished for development.
Oxford Archaeology [10] has been commissioned to undertake an investigation as to the military significance of this site. The opinion of Bristol Industrial Archaeological Society has also been sought. [11]
Yate is represented in the UK Parliament by the constituency of Thornbury and Yate.
Historically part of Gloucestershire until 1974 it then became part of the district of Northavon within the newly formed county of Avon. In 1996, Avon was abolished, and the area became part of the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire and rejoined the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire. [2] Yate Town Council provides local services, which are displayed on their website. [12]
Before the Second World War, Yate had an aircraft manufacturing industry (Parnall) with a grass aerodrome. [13] During the Second World War, Parnall specialised in making gun turrets. A number of people were killed in raids by the Luftwaffe on the factory in February and March 1941. [14]
Following the war, the Parnall factory turned to the manufacture of domestic goods and was famous for its washing machines. In 1958 Parnall merged with Radiation Ltd to become known as Jackson, producing the Jackson range of cookers. Through mergers and acquisitions, Jacksons is now part of Indesit and the Jackson name is no longer used.
Newman's of Bristol had a large factory on Station Road, from 1932 until the 1980s, in its heyday in the 1960s, employing over 1,500 people.
Yate has had three natural products associated with it: limestone to the east, celestine or spar near the centre of the town and coal to the west.
The need for limestone increased with the growth of roads, while the demand for coal grew with the diminishing supply of timber. Celestine, the major strontium mineral, was first dug in the late 1880s and was initially used for the refining of sugar beet. At one time Yate's celestine accounted for 95 per cent of the world's production. [15] It colours flames red, and so was important for pyrotechnics such as fireworks, military and signal flares and tracer bullets. The last commercial excavation of celestine from the Yate area was for use during the Vietnam War. The mining company, Bristol Mineral and Land Co, closed in 1994.
The town has a skatepark at Peghill. Yate Common on Westerleigh Road is used for dog walking, nature watching, kite flying, circuses and fairs.
The common has a stretch of unused dual carriageway ( 51°31′56″N2°26′02″W / 51.532282°N 2.433879°W ), known as the "Road to Nowhere", which has been used for filming in TV programmes such as Casualty . [16] This was part of a scheme to create a bypass from Rodford Way in South Yate to Nibley. [17] The scheme was only partially completed in 1974, the year when Yate became a part of Avon. Completion of the road would have entailed building a bridge over the railway, but finance for this was never made available. The town has several parks and areas of open space. The largest of these is Kingsgate Park, which has an adventure playground for children. The town is served by a community radio station, GLOSS FM which broadcasts 365 days a year on its webcasts and twice a year on 87.7 MHz FM. A Cineworld cinema opened in the new Riverside shopping centre in April 2016. The town benefits from a four appliance fire station, with a retained Crew 24 hours and then further tenders staffed on a voluntary basis. Next to the fire station is a 6 bay ambulance station with a further 3 ambulances and 2 response cars stabled outside.
Construction of a pedestrianised shopping centre of around a hundred shops began in the early-to-mid-1960s. [18] The shopping centre was opened by Patricia Phoenix, Mary Rand and Ted Ray. As in most British new towns, modern art was incorporated, in the form of the Four Seasons sculpture, and a spire-shaped sculpture, which could be seen for miles. This sculpture existed until the early 1990s when it was removed during the revamping of the centre, which included the erection of glass roofs over the walkways. An extension to East Walk was constructed at the start of the 1980s, and an extension to West Walk was constructed in the early 1990s. During the 1980s and into the mid-1990s, the shopping centre hosted Yate's annual festival. On opening day a celebrity launched the festival by releasing balloons. In December 2006, the owners of the shopping centre (Dominion Corporate Trustees) announced plans to enlarge and modernise it.
Yate railway station serves the town. The railway station is located on the main Bristol to Birmingham line between Bristol Parkway and Cam & Dursley, and is operated by Great Western Railway.
Bus services within the Yate area are mainly provided by First West of England. Other operators who provide bus services to/from Yate include Coachstyle, Eurocoaches and Stagecoach West.
Regular bus services link Yate with Bristol city centre. There are also buses from Yate running to Bath, Cribbs Causeway, Malmesbury, Tetbury and Westonbirt Arboretum. Additionally, buses link Yate to a number of other towns/villages within South Gloucestershire and west Wiltshire including Acton Turville, Badminton, Charfield, Chipping Sodbury, Downend, Emersons Green, Filton, Fishponds, Frenchay, Iron Acton, Kingswood, Luckington, Pucklechurch, Mangotsfield, Old Sodbury, Sherston, Staple Hill, Thornbury, Tormarton, Westerleigh, Wick, Winterbourne and Wotton-under-Edge.
Yate is also served by the WESTlink on-demand bus, available to the public Monday-Saturday. [19]
Buses in Yate pick up and set down at Yate Bus Station which is at Yate Shopping Centre. A number of bus services also pass Yate railway station. Yate Park and Ride is located at the western edge of the town and has services to the town centre and to Bristol.
Yate is twinned with Bad Salzdetfurth in Germany and Genieri in Gambia. [20] [21]
Regional local news and television programmes are provided by BBC West and ITV West Country. Television signals are received from the Mendip TV transmitter. [22] Because of its proximity to Wales, BBC Wales and ITV Cymru Wales can also be received from the Wenvoe TV transmitter. [23]
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Bristol, Heart West, Smooth Radio Bristol, Greatest Hits Radio South West and community based station, Thornbury Radio. [24] [25]
Yate's local newspapers are Evening Post and Gazette Series. [26]
Yate and District Athletic Club [27] is a track-and-field club based at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex (YOSC). Formed in 1983 by Mike Smith, an eight-lane track was completed in December 1988 and formally opened by Olympian, Lynn Davies in 1989. Floodlighting was added in 1992.
Chipping Sodbury Cricket Club [28] is Yate's nearest cricket club, providing cricket for men, women, boys and girls. They play their home matches on their two grounds at the Ridings playing fields in Chipping Sodbury.
Yate Town F.C. [29] play in the Southern League Southern League First Division South. There is also a ladies' football team, Yate Town Girls/Ladies FC, [30] that play in local leagues. Yate is also home to Yate United Youth F.C., the largest local youth only football club, established in 1971. They play their home matches at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex, Sunnyside Playing Fields and Kelston Close playing fields. [31] The largest local club is St. Nicholas F.C. Otherwise known as St. Nick's, this club has a total of 21 teams, including two ladies and one men's team. They play at The Ridings, Wickwar Road, Chipping Sodbury. The women's first team, St Nicholas L.F.C., play in South West Division One of the FA Women's Premier League, and play their home games at Yate Town's ground on Lodge Road.
Yate Hockey Club runs teams from adult to junior. [32] Its home ground is Yate Outdoor Sports Complex, which it shares with Badminton and Pucklechurch Hockey Club.
Yate Rugby Football Club [33] were founded 2016 by club owner and founder Stewart Stacey. [34] The club play their home fixtures at Yate Outdoor Sports Complex. Yate RFC currently play under Gloucestershire RFU, in Bristol & District 2 league they finished fourth place in the 2018/19 season, their highest league position in the club's history. The club have a second team known as Yate Yaks that play friendlies and raise money for charity.
Gloucestershire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire to the east, Wiltshire to the south, Bristol and Somerset to the south-west, and the Welsh county of Monmouthshire to the west. The city of Gloucester is the largest settlement and the county town.
Thornbury is a market town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire unitary authority area of England, about 12 miles (19 km) north of Bristol. It had a population of 12,063 at the 2011 census. The population has risen to 14,496 in the 2021 census. Thornbury is a Britain in Bloom award-winning town, with its own competition: Thornbury in Bloom. The earliest documentary evidence of a village at "Thornbyrig" dates from the end of the 9th century. The Domesday Book of 1086 noted a manor of "Turneberie" belonging to William the Conqueror’s consort, Matilda of Flanders, with 104 residents.
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.
Kingswood is a town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire district of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. The town is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) east-northeast of Bristol.
Chipping Sodbury is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire, in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated 13 miles (21 km) north-east of Bristol and directly east of Yate. The town was founded in the 12th century by William le Gros. It is the main settlement in the civil parish of Sodbury, which also includes the village of Old Sodbury.
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.
Little Sodbury is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Horton, in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It is located between Chipping Sodbury, to the west, Old Sodbury to the south, Badminton, and the A46 road to the east and Horton and Hawkesbury Upton, to the north. In 2011 the parish had a population of 113. On 1 April 2023 the parish was abolished and merged with Horton.
Westerleigh is a clustered village in the civil parish of Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, it contains sources of the Frome and has an endpoint of the Frome Valley Walkway. It is 0.8 miles (1.3 km) north of the M4, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Yate and 10 miles (16 km) north-east of the city of Bristol. In the south it includes a steep hill of its own 5 miles (8.0 km) from the crest of the Cotswold hills which is designated an AONB.
Fishponds is a large suburb in the north-east of the English city of Bristol, about 3 miles (5 km) from the city centre. It has two large Victorian-era parks: Eastville Park and Vassall's Park. The River Frome runs through both with the Frome Valley Walkway alongside it. A restored mill found at Snuff Mills near the Vassall's Park end of the river has kept its original waterwheel, which can still be seen and heard turning. Eastville Park has a large boating lake with central wildlife reserves. Fishponds is mainly residential. Two main bus routes pass through. Housing is typically terraced Victorian. The high street shops include an international supermarket, Asian food store, charity shops, takeaways and Lidl, Aldi and Morrisons supermarkets. It has a small student population from the presence of the Glenside campus of the University of the West of England. The name Fishponds derives from when it was a quarry district, like nearby Soundwell. The empty quarries became large fishponds, which have since been filled in. One remained until the mid-1970s, when it was officially closed: a popular swimming area named "The Lido" by locals. It now belongs to an angling club.
Northavon was, from 1983 until 2010, a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Acton Turville is a parish in the Cotswold Edge ward within South Gloucestershire, England. It lies 17 miles (27 km) east-northeast of Bristol. The M4 is south of the parish. Acton Turville consists of a cluster of households across 1,009 acres, with a total population of 370 people. Acton Turville is also listed as "Achetone" in the Domesday Book.
Old Sodbury is a small village and former civil parish in the valley of the River Frome just below and to the west of the Cotswold escarpment and to the east of Chipping Sodbury and Yate, now in the parish of Sodbury, in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated in the Hundred of Grumbald's Ash. The village extends from Chipping Sodbury in the West to the Cotswold Edge in the East and is on the Cotswold Way. The Badminton Road (A432) winds eastwards towards Badminton, Gloucestershire through the village, up to the Cross Hands junction with the A46, which runs along the top of the Cotswold escarpment from Bath to Stroud. In 1931 the parish had a population of 837. On 1 April 1946 the parish was abolished to form Sodbury.
Dodington is a village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. The village lies in a small, fertile valley between Codrington and Old Sodbury, and runs together with the even tinier hamlet of Coombes End. It is about 2.5 miles southeast of Chipping Sodbury and four miles from Yate railway station.
Thornbury and Yate is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since the 2024 election by Claire Young, a member of the Liberal Democrats. Encompassing an area to the north-east of Bristol, it is one of three constituencies that make up the South Gloucestershire Unitary Authority Area, along with Filton and Bradley Stoke and Kingswood.
Brimsham Green School is a comprehensive secondary school in Yate, South Gloucestershire, England.
Yate Academy is a secondary school located in the town of Yate in South Gloucestershire, on the outskirts of Bristol, England. It was founded in 1953.
Henfield is a hamlet in the civil parish of Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath, in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It is between Coalpit Heath and Westerleigh, adjoining the hamlet of Ram Hill immediately to the north.
Ram Hill is a hamlet in the civil parish of Westerleigh and Coalpit Heath, in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. It is located between Coalpit Heath and Westerleigh and adjoins the hamlet of Henfield immediately to the south. In the Mudge Map 1815, Ram Hill was known as Nutridge Hill, and was linked to Westerleigh by Broad Lane and to Mays Hill by Frog Lane.
Chipping Sodbury School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form, located in Chipping Sodbury in the Unitary authority of South Gloucestershire, England. It shares ground with the Cotswold Edge sixth-form.
Chipping Sodbury Town Football Club is a football club based in Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire, England. They are currently members of the Hellenic League Division One and play at the Ridings.