Horfield | |
---|---|
![]() Boundaries of the city council ward since 2016 | |
Population | 12,826 (2011.Ward)[1] |
OS grid reference | ST597769 |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BRISTOL |
Postcode district | BS7 |
Dialling code | 0117 |
Police | Avon and Somerset |
Fire | Avon |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
51°29′24″N2°34′50″W / 51.4900°N 2.5805°W /51.4900; -2.5805 |
Horfield is a suburb of the city ofBristol, in southwest England. It lies on Bristol's northern edge, its border withFilton marking part of the boundary between Bristol andSouth Gloucestershire.Bishopston lies directly to the south.Monks Park andGolden Hill are to the west.Lockleaze andAshley Down are on the eastern fringe. TheGloucester Road (A38) runs north–south through the suburb.
Horfield is also the name of anelectoral ward forBristol City Council. The ward includes Monks Park andSouthmead Hospital, but does not include the southern part of Horfield, including Horfield Common andHorfield Prison, which is in Bishopston ward.
The name isAnglo-Saxon in origin, and means "filthy open land" (Old Englishhoru andfeld).[2]
Horfield was a parish in thehundred of Berkeley in Gloucestershire, which included Bishopston, Golden Hill, Lockleaze and part of Ashley Down.[3]
Historically, the area had a reputation as a lawless place because Horfield Wood was the haunt of thieves and vagrants. The area remained rural until the early 19th century.
Following the 1831Bristol Riots, during which the local gaol burnt down, Horfield Prison was completed in 1847. A permanent military presence was established in the city with the completion ofHorfield Barracks also in 1847.[4]
Horfield was mostly developed from the mid 19th century onwards. In 1859, Bishopston became a separate parish. The remainder of Horfield became acivil parish in 1866, when civil parishes were introduced. In 1894 Horfield Urban District was formed, but in 1904 it was absorbed into Bristol.[5] In 1901 the parish had a population of 1435.[6] On 1 April 1904 the parish was abolished and merged with Bristol.[7]
Horfield is home to theMemorial Stadium: a sports stadium built in 1921 forBristol Rugby Club in memory of therugby union players of the city who died inWorld War I, and rededicated to also commemorate the dead ofWorld War II. In 1996, the ground also became home toBristol Rovers Football Club who now own it. Bristol Rugby Club has since moved out of the ground and is now based at the Bristol City FC stadium in the south of the city.
Near the Memorial Stadium is The Wellington,CAMRA Bristol & District joint winner of Pub of the Year for 2005.[citation needed] The 2006 Pub of the Year is also in Horfield, The Inn on the Green on Gloucester Road.[citation needed]
Horfield has a leisure centre that was updated to have a 25-metre swimming pool in 2005.Horfield Leisure Centre has a gym, swimming pool and learners pool, and a sports hall.[8] Outside the complex is a small skateboard park. The leisure centre was built in the 1980s on open ground opposite the old Horfield Barracks, where open and closed-in rifle ranges once stood.
Of Horfield's green spaces, Horfield Common is the largest, having a central enclosure of tennis courts and a bowling club. Horfield Common is one of Bristol's highest points of land above sea level.
There is a Library on Filton Avenue.[9]
There is a Primary School, Filton Avenue Primary School, also on Filton Avenue.[10]
There are two GP Surgeries that serve Horfield, Horfield Health Centre and Monks Park Surgery.[11][12]
The nearest hospital isSouthmead Hospital, a large public National Health Service hospital, situated a short distance away in the Southmead ward of Bristol. It is part of the North Bristol NHS Trust.
The nearest Police Station used to be situated just west of Horfield on Southmead Road, however this was closed and replaced by a care home. The nearest Police Station is now a community police station based in the grounds of Southmead Hospital.
Horfield is served by bus services on Gloucester Road (First West of England routes 24, 25, 70, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 78 and 79 andWessex Connect routes 3A, 3C commuter buses to Aztec West and 11,12, 15 and 19), and Muller Road (Wessex Connect routes 506 and 507).
The main road running through Horfield is the Gloucester Road section of the A38 and is the longest road of independent shops in the UK.
Historically, from the latter part of the 19th century until the first third of the 20th century, Horfield was served by Bristol's tram system, with Horfield having its own tram depot near the junction of Gloucester Road and Church Road. The tram depot site is now a petrol station and a doctor's surgery at the rear. Tram lines which once lead into the depot have been preserved in the surface of the car park of the surgery.
Between 1927 and 1964, the northeast part of the district was served byHorfield railway station.
Famous sons of Horfield include actorCary Grant, who was born at 15 Hughenden Road in 1904, and composerRay Steadman-Allen was born at 64 Muller Road in 1922. The cartoonistAnnie Fish was born at Brynland Avenue in 1890.[13]
The parish of Horfield includes Horfield ward to the north, part of theBristol North West parliamentary constituency. The southern part of the parish is inBishopston ward, inBristol West parliamentary constituency.
There are a number of interesting churches in Horfield.
Church of the Holy Trinity with St Edmund – theparish church was possibly founded as early as 603 but the earliest remnant is an old pillar and the circular churchyard. The tower is late 15th century or early 16th century with thenave andaisles added to byWilliam Butterfield in 1847. The central tower was erected in 1893 by local firm Crisp & Oately and thetransepts later in 1913 and 1929. It is a grade II*listed building.[14]
St. Edmunds Church – erected in thelancet style in 1860 byST Welch erected as a school and then given a tower and side aisles in 1930 byHartland Thomas. A building with a roof (similar to Horfield Parish), Anglo catholic interior, and ahigh church tradition. The church closed in 1979 and was a printers but was demolished in 2006 – the local planning authority did not request obligatory photos.
Horfield Barracks chapel – erected 1859 (not 1847 as in Buildings of England). A fine lancet styled chapel with some good handling of dressings and very goodbellcote. Closed in the 1920s, the chapel lay dormant for decades until being converted to offices in the 1980s. It is grade II listed.[15]
Methodist Chapel – 1899 by La Trobe – very good essay in lateVictorianArts and CraftsGothic with a fine wooden interior.
The formerSalvation Army chapel – in Ashley Down Road.
HorfieldBaptist Chapel – a twin towered perpendicular chapel byMilverton Drake with an organ by Hele.
The Roman Catholic Chapel of St Maximillian Kolbe with St Edith Stein and the Holocaust Martyrs – in Alfoxton Road.
Quaker meeting house of 1906 – domestic red brick.
Whitefield Tabernacle Muller Road – Contains the 18th centurypulpit removed from Penn Street Tabernacle when that was demolished to make way for the city centre. It also contains the superb 1815 wooden organ case.