Shirehampton: Difference between revisions
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==Prehistory== |
==Prehistory== |
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The gravel terraces above the River Avon provide some of the earliest evidence of human occupation in the [[British Isles]]. Here and around Ham Green and Pill, on the opposite bank of the Avon |
The gravel terraces above the River Avon provide some of the earliest evidence of human occupation in the [[British Isles]]. Here and around Ham Green and Pill, on the opposite bank of the Avon, humans with a [[Palaeolithic]] (Old Stone Age) culture left tools and debris behind at an uncertain time some 250-400,000 years ago.<ref> [http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Leisure-Culture/Local-History-Heritage/archaeology/palaeolithic-in-bristol.en Bates 2003]</ref>, <ref> [http://www.somerset.gov.uk/media/8E5/33/palmes.pdf Hosfield 2005: 28; map on 30]</ref> |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Revision as of 09:05, 1 June 2007
Shirehampton, near Avonmouth, at the edge of the city of Bristol, England, is a district of Bristol which originated as a separate village. It retains something of its village feel, and is still thought of as a village by many of its 6867 inhabitants.[1] Although separated from Bristol by the length of the Avon Gorge, the community is still a convenient location from which to reach all parts of the city and its work environment. Shirehampton is also within easy reach of all the main motorways in the area, including the M5, the new M4 Second Severn Bridge crossing, and the M49, and is served by Shirehampton railway station. It is informally known to all and sundry as "Shire", which is also the title of the monthly community newspaper and website.
Situation
Shirehampton looks across the River Avon towards the green fields of North Somerset. For many centuries the only direct connection with Somerset was via a small ferry which crossed from near The Lamplighters pub to the village of Pill opposite. This state of affairs continued till the completion of the M5 Avonmouth Bridge in 1974. From the limestone ridge of Penpole Point (whose name meant approximately 'Land's End' in the Celtic language spoken here before English), there used to be extensive and far-reaching views across the River Severn to the distant hills of South Wales, but tree growth has restricted this once spectacular prospect.
Prehistory
The gravel terraces above the River Avon provide some of the earliest evidence of human occupation in the British Isles. Here and around Ham Green and Pill, on the opposite bank of the Avon, humans with a Palaeolithic (Old Stone Age) culture left tools and debris behind at an uncertain time some 250-400,000 years ago.[2], [3]
History
Shirehampton was originally a detached part of the parish of Westbury-on-Trym, separated from the main part of Westbury by a swathe of Henbury parish, which included Kingsweston, the great house whose inhabitants have had a considerable impact on Shirehampton, as employers and benefactors. The area is on record as part of the estate of "Stoke", which was granted by King Offa of Mercia to the bishop of Worcester in 795, along with the district that is now called Stoke Bishop, and there are two later Anglo-Saxon documents about the same pieces of land.[4]
A priory of the Benedictine abbey of St Mary at Cormeilles in Normandy was established at Shirehampton in the early Middle Ages, and the converted fourteenth-century tithe barn in the High Street is believed to have belonged to the estate.
Shirehampton became ecclesiastically separate in 1844 when the Elizabethan chapel of ease of St Mary was raised to parish church status. The original chapel was replaced by the eighteenth-century St Mary's, which burnt down in 1928 and was replaced by the current building with its distinctive electric carillion.
Avonmouth was a part of Shirehampton parish until 1917. It developed as the main element of the port of Bristol in the later nineteenth century, attracting many workers to settle there and in Shirehampton proper; it had grown so big by 1917 that it was given separate status, for both ecclesiastical and civil purposes. Shirehampton itself expanded considerably in the later nineteenth century, and was absorbed, with Avonmouth, by the city of Bristol in 1904. After World War I, the city built a great deal of decent social housing here, and this has largely determined the present character of the place. Along the High Street there remains a fair sprinkling of the larger houses which typified the place before 1900, often (like Twyford House) converted to public use; some have been demolished and replaced by small infill estates, and some have gone altogether like the ancient manor house, which has been lost to a row of 1960s shops.
Benefactions
As Shirehampton and Avonmouth grew, the "squires" of Kingsweston, notably Philip Napier Miles (1865-1935), gave many benefactions to the district, including land for churches, war memorials and social amenities. Among these important gifts was the Public Hall of 1904,[5] whose main claim to fame is perhaps that it was the venue of the first performance of Vaughan Williams' violin rhapsody "The lark ascending", played by Marie Hall, in 1920. The beautiful Little Park or Shirehampton Common was given to the National Trust after World War I, and is used as a golf course.
Amenities
Shirehampton is well provided with churches, schools, sporting facilities, shops and pubs. It has a number of beautiful parks and interesting antiquities nearby. These include Kingsweston Roman Villa (whose ruins are visible by the roadside in the modern suburb of Lawrence Weston), Blaise Castle Estate, and Blaise Castle House Museum.
Other antiquities
On the banks of the River Avon stands the Old Powder House which was built in the late 18th century to store gunpowder which was not allowed in the docks. It is a grade II listed building.[6]
References and sources
- ^ 1991 census data.
- ^ Bates 2003
- ^ Hosfield 2005: 28; map on 30
- ^ Higgins 2004.
- ^ Helme 2004.
- ^ "Powder houses and jetty". Images of England. Retrieved 2007-02-20.
Bates, M.R. 2003 A brief review of deposits containing Palaeolithic artefacts in the Shirehampton Area of Bristol and their regional significance. Brecon: TerraNova.
Helme, Judy (2004) Shirehampton Public Hall 1904-2004. Shirehampton Public Hall Committee.
Higgins, David H. (2004) The Roman town of Abona and the Anglo-Saxon charters of Stoke Bishop of AD 969 and 984. Bristol and Avon Archaeology 19, 75-86.
Thomas, Ethel (1983) Shirehampton story. Privately published (2nd end 1993).
Thomas, Ethel (2002) The continuing story of Shirehampton. Privately published.