Downend, South Gloucestershire

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coordinates: 51°29′41″N 2°30′18″W / 51.4947°N 2.5049°W / 51.4947; -2.5049
Downend
Downend

 Downend shown within Gloucestershire
Population Downend and Bromley Heath
OS grid reference ST650774
Unitary authority South Gloucestershire
Ceremonial county Gloucestershire
Region South West
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BRISTOL
Postcode district BS
Dialling code 0117
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Avon
Ambulance Great Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK Parliament Filton and Bradley Stoke
List of places
UK
England
Gloucestershire
Downend war memorial
A mural of W. G. Grace in Downend

Downend is a suburb of Bristol in South Gloucestershire, England. It is located to the North East of Bristol and bordered by the Bristol City suburb of Fishponds to its south west and the South Gloucestershire suburbs of Staple Hill to the south, Frenchay to the west and Mangotsfield to the East. Between Downend and Frenchay is Cleevewood and Bromley Heath, popular areas for families.

Newspaper readership varies between the popular tabloids, quality broadsheets and regional titles. Levels of book readership are also higher than average. Due to the suburban and rural locations of these households this populace demonstrates a very high propensity to use the internet to purchase goods online, being over 1.4 times more likely to decline a visit to their nearest store and instead buy groceries using the web. This group are more likely to take 2 or even 3 holidays each year. Hotel visits are also frequent, as are visits to their own timeshare property or holiday home. The outward expansion of Downend dating from the 1980s has been contained by the presence of the M4 motorway which swings around the northern side of Bristol. Downend has little industry within its boundaries, consisting mainly of domestic housing and local shopping facilities. The high street is home to a number of independently owned restaurants, allowing residents to eat out locally. The high street also offers a Sainsbury's and Co-op supermarket, two coffee shops, an independent investment consultancy, a high number of estate agents, most of the Major banks and a designer clothes store.

Downend has a lots of green space and parks including The King George V Playing Fields, and there is also a local cricket club located in the centre of Downend. Secondary and primary schools based in Downend include Downend School,

http://www.stanbridge.ik.org/home.ikml/ Stanbridge Primary School], the very popular Bromley Heath Junior and Infant schools and Christ Church Primary and Junior schools. There are a few local churches although the closest are Downend Baptist Church on Salisbury Road and the Christ Church on Downend Road. Badminton Road Methodist Church, between Downend and the Avon Ring Road, serves the newer housing alongside Badminton Road and in the Bromley Heath area.

Downend's greatest claim to fame is that the cricketer W. G. Grace was born in the village, and played cricket as a boy for the nearby West Gloucestershire Cricket Club, which had been founded by his father, the Downend GP. Sarah Dallin and Keren Woodward, members of the band Bananarama, also grew up in Downend (but attended Mangotsfield School). The rock band New Rhodes also lived in Downend for a short time.

Woodland, situated between Croomes Hill and Overndale Road in Downend, was the site of an air crash on 6 November 1957, when a prototype Bristol Britannia aircraft crashed killing the 15-man crew. The prototype aircraft crashed into nearby Britannia Woods, Downend after sweeping across the expanse of 1950s Downend.

Sport and recreation

Downend has a wide range of local parks and open spaces, most notably King George's Field in memorial to King George V, the playing fields are used for Football in the Winter and Cricket in the summer months.

Downend School features the majority of the area's sports facilities, on the school's site there is a Sports Centre, Sports Hall, Changing + shower areas and a Gymnasium. The school has an all-weather football pitch which is hired out regularly for football training by local teams, Netball, Basketball and Nine Tennis Courts, Cricket nets and long jump pits. However there are no rugby pitches because the council decide what sporting facilities it chooses, even though there are three football pitches and the all-weather pitch.

Nearby Stanbridge Primary School offers a range of dance and keep fit classes for the local community outside school hours.

There are tennis courts at Cleeve Hill Tennis Club, Queensholm Park and Page Park. Football is also played at Queensholm Park, Blackhorse Lane, Blackhorse Road and Page Park.

Some nearby community spaces include Bromley Heath park, Victorian Page Park, Lincombe Barn, King George V playing fields, and the former Downend School lower site playing fields.

Downend is close to the Avon Ring Road Cycle Path and the Bristol & Bath Railway Path, which link up with the Avon Cycleway and the National Cycle Network.

The annual Guy Fawkes Night fireworks display is organised by the Great Western Round Table.[1][2] The 40th anniversary show in 2011 was provided for the first time by Skyburst Illuminations of Bedminster, Bristol.[3]

Location grid

See also

References

  1. "40th anniversary for Downend Fireworks Show". Bristol Evening Post. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011. "Downend Fireworks Show, organised by the Great Western Round Table [...]" 
  2. hrbrsd (2 November 2011). "Forty years of fireworks". kingswoodpeople. Northcliffe Media. Retrieved 11 November 2011. "The annual Downend Firework Show, hosted by the Great Western Round Table (GWRT), which attracts crowds of up to 13,000 each year, can trace its beginnings back to Westerleigh Road in 1971." 
  3. "Night to go with a bang for firm behind 130 displays". Bristol Evening Post. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011. ""This year we're firing Downend Firework Show for the first time which is a great honour," [...]" 

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.