Ashley (Bristol ward)

Ashley, Bristol
Boundaries of the council ward, shown within Bristol
Population	16,225 ^[1]
OS grid reference	ST598755
Unitary authority	Bristol
Ceremonial county	Bristol
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRISTOL
Postcode district	BS6
Dialling code	0117
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Bristol West
List of places UK England Bristol

Coordinates: 51°28′26″N 2°34′55″W / 51.4739°N 2.5819°W / 51.4739; -2.5819

Ashley is one of thirty-five council wards in the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom. The ward contains the areas of Baptist Mills, Montpelier, St Andrew's, St Paul's and St Werburgh's.^[2]

Politics

Ashley is part of the Bristol West parliamentary constituency, which elects one Member of Parliament. The incumbent Member of Parliament is Stephen Williams MP, a Liberal Democrat.

On Bristol City Council, Ashley sends two councillors. Currently, these are Cllr Gus Hoyt (Green Party), and Cllr Rob Telford (Green). Hoyt was elected in 2011 and Telford was elected in 2013.

Baptist Mills

Baptist Mills is a small and not very well known area of Bristol, which is located between St Werburghs and Easton. It was home to a brass works between 1700 and 1840,^[3] and a pottery between 1840 and 1891.^[4] The area is now often regarded as part of St Werburghs. In the 19th Century part of Baptist Mills was also known as Botany Bay and regarded as a fairly lawless area.

Montpelier

'The Arches' railway bridge is a local landmark on the borders of Montpelier, St Andrews and Cotham.

Montpelier is an area of North Bristol. It is bounded by the Cheltenham Road to the west, St Paul's to the south, St Werburghs to the east and St Andrew's to the north. It has its own railway station, and a reputation for being bohemian and 'alternative'. Picton Street is a haven for lovers of organic and vegetarian cuisine.

A view along Picton Street, Montpelier

Picton Street was built and named in honour of Sir Thomas Picton who, as Captain Picton, in 1783 endeared himself to Bristolians by bravely facing the rebellious 75th Battalion on College Green and averting a military mutiny. There is also a fine double-bayed villa in the street named after him, Picton Lodge.

There is a strong feeling of community spirit in Montpelier. Street parties and fundraising events have recently been held there to light up the iconic railway bridge known locally as 'The Arches'.

St Andrew's

St Andrew's is a suburb of Bristol situated about 3 km (1.8 miles) north of the city centre. The area was developed in the late 19th century as St Andrew's Park Estate, and consists mostly of large Victorian villas, with some inter-war housing and some minor rebuilding in Cromwell Road and Belvoir Road following enemy action in World War II.

The area is roughly bounded by the Severn Beach Railway Line stations of Montpelier and Redland, Gloucester Rd, Somerville Rd and Cromwell Rd; however as is often the case the boundary is debatable: According to the Ordnance Survey map this area is Montpelier, whereas according to the National Gazetteer of 1868 Montpelier is a hamlet within the Parish of St Andrew's. St Andrew's church, which gave the area its name, was in St Andrew's Road, Montpelier. It was demolished in 1969.

The David Thomas Memorial church was erected 1879 – 1881 but demolished in 1987 destroying most of a Gothic fantasy by Stuart Coleman. The building still retains a thin octagonal spire and west front but the massive halls, apse and rib vaults have now gone in favour of flats by Stride Treglown.

In the middle part of the 20th century the area became unfashionable and many of the houses were converted to multiple occupation. However during the 1990s living in the City Centre became fashionable once again and consequently these houses are now being converted back into family homes, their owners once again taking pride in them and restoring their period features.

St Andrew's is well served by public transport, with frequent buses to all parts of the city from Gloucester road, buses to UWE's Frenchay Campus and a local train service from Montpelier to Bristol Temple Meads, Clifton and Avonmouth on the Severn Beach Line.

St Andrew's Park

St Andrew's Park is at the heart of the area. The park was laid out in 1895,^[5] and is home to events such as 'Music in the Park' during the summer, and 'Carols in the Park' at Christmas. The park features a well-sized children's play area, permanent paddling pool (serviced and used only in the summer months) and public toilets (limited opening hours). Despite being located on a hilly incline, the park is well used for football and frisbee throughout the year. On 30 April 1941 a Wellington bomber on a night training flight crashed in the park after hitting balloon barrage cables. There is now a memorial to the crash in the park. A website has been created about the crash.

St Paul's

St Paul's is an inner suburb of Bristol, England, situated just north east of the city centre and west of the M32. In the early 18th century it was laid out as one of Bristol's first suburbs.

St Werburgh's

St Werburgh's Church

Main article: St Werburghs

St. Werburgh's is an area in central north-east Bristol, England. Surrounded by the M32 motorway, railway embankments and allotment slopes it has the feel of a green village in the inner city. The area became known as St.Werburgh's when St Werburgh's Church was relocated (and substantially rebuilt) to Mina Road in this district from Corn Street, Bristol in 1879. It is now a Climbing Centre by Undercover Rock. Before then the northern part was Ashley Vale and the southern part Baptist Mills.

References

↑ "Ashley". 2011 Census Ward Information Sheet. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
↑ Bristol City Council. "Ashley ward map" (PDF). Retrieved 31 October 2007.
↑ "The Brass Industry" (HTML). Living Easton. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
↑ "Baptist Mills Pottery" (HTML). Living Easton. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
↑ Bristol City Council: Parks and open spaces: St Andrews Park

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ashley (Bristol ward).

Subdivisions of Bristol

Parliament constituencies	Bristol West Bristol East Bristol South Bristol North West

Wards	Ashley Avonmouth Bedminster Bishopston Bishopsworth Brislington East Brislington West Cabot Clifton Clifton East Cotham Easton Eastville Filwood Frome Vale Hartcliffe Henbury Hengrove Henleaze Hillfields Horfield Kingsweston Knowle Lawrence Hill Lockleaze Redland Southmead Southville St George East St George West Stockwood Stoke Bishop Westbury-on-Trym Whitchurch Park Windmill Hill

Neighbourhoods	City centre Arnos Vale Ashley Down Ashton Gate Ashton Vale Avonmouth Baptist Mills Barton Hill Bedminster Bedminster Down Bishopston Bishopsworth Blaise Hamlet Bower Ashton Brentry Brislington Broadmead Broomhill near Brislington Broomhill near Stapleton Canon's Marsh Chester Park Chittening Clifton Cliftonwood Coombe Dingle Cotham Crew's Hole Crofts End Easton Eastville Filwood Park Fishponds Golden Hill Greenbank Hartcliffe Headley Park Henbury Hengrove Henleaze Hillfields Horfield Hotwells Kensington Park Kingsdown Knowle Knowle West Lawrence Hill Lawrence Weston Lockleaze Lodge Hill Mayfield Park Monks Park Montpelier Old City Redcliffe Redfield Redland Sea Mills Shirehampton Sneyd Park Southmead Southville Speedwell Spike Island St Andrew's St Anne's St. George St. Jude's St. Paul's St Philip's Marsh St. Werburgh's Stapleton Stockwood Stoke Bishop Totterdown Tyndall's Park Upper Knowle Westbury-on-Trym Westbury Park Whitchurch Whitehall Windmill Hill Withywood The following suburbs are in the same urban area, but lie in South Gloucestershire or North Somerset: Bradley Stoke Conham Downend Emerson's Green Filton Frenchay Hambrook Hanham Little Stoke Kingswood Mangotsfield Patchway Soundwell Staple Hill Stoke Gifford