Newbridge, Bath

Newbridge

Chelsea Road shopping area
Newbridge
Newbridge shown within Somerset
Population 5,938 (2011)[1]
OS grid reference ST726655
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BATH
Postcode district BA1
Dialling code 01225
Police Avon and Somerset
Fire Avon
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK Parliament

Newbridge is a largely residential electoral ward on the western edge of Bath, England.

Geography

The Newbridge electoral ward can be divided into three areas from south to north:

Runners in the 2006 Bath Half Marathon, on Newbridge Road

The main shopping area in Newbridge is Chelsea Road, a small area of shops, restaurants and hairdressers. Shops include a bakery, a hardware shop, a SPAR supermarket, a cycle shop and nearby on Newbridge Road a post office.

Bath's major hospital, the Royal United Hospital, is in the north-east of the ward in Combe Park, bordering Weston village. Lansdown Cricket Club's ground is alongside the hospital. Weston Recreation Ground[2] is in Newbridge ward.

Newbridge is the location of Partis College, which was built as large block of almshouses between 1825 and 1827. It is designated as a Grade I listed building.[3]

The National Cycle Network Bristol and Bath Railway Path runs westward from Newbridge to Bristol, and a continuation riverside cycle and footpath runs eastward into central Bath.[4] Newbridge Park and Ride is just off the A4 road on the western edge of the ward, alongside the Newbridge Meadows village green.[5][6]

History

The New Bridge

The New Bridge in 1806

The area is named after the New Bridge over the River Avon outside Bath, built in 1734. This was built to replace a ford that was one of the last impediments to navigation between Bristol and Bath. The bridge had pierced spandrels and arches on either side to allow flood water to pass easily. The bridge was widened and improved in the 1830s to the version that now carries the A4 road from Bath to Bristol out of Newbridge.[7][8]

Development as a suburb

From about 1902 to 1939 a tram service from central Bath to Newton St Loe operated down Newbridge Road and across the bridge.[9][10]

In 1915 Sidney Horstmann and his brothers built a large factory, Newbridge Works, in what was then the outskirts of Bath. The general engineering company, The Horstmann Gear Company, specialised in gas street lighting controls, time switches, gauges, and latterly central heating controls, used "Newbridge" as a trademark for some of its products. The factory closed in 2000, and the site was redeveloped for housing.[11][12]

Schools

Educationally, Newbridge is part of the North West Bath area of Bath and North East Somerset. This area has three primary schools:

and one secondary school:

though at secondary school level, many of the girls from the Newbridge area attend Hayesfield Girls' School and many of the boys attend Beechen Cliff School.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Charity Commission. Weston Recreation Ground, registered charity no. 304672.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Partis College, including lodge and wrought iron gates (443111)". Images of England. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  4. ↑ Mike Chapman (2016). "Bath Six Bridges Walk – Newbridge to Windsor Bridge" (PDF). Riverside Heritage Walks. Bristol Natural History Consortium. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Laura Tremelling (20 November 2013). "Newbridge park and ride car park expansion approved". Bath Chronicle. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  6. ↑ "21 Newbridge – Bath City Centre". Bath and North East Somerset Council. Retrieved 22 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "The Avon Navigation" (PDF). River Avon Trail Interpretation Project Bulletin. River Avon Trail (5). September 2004. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  8. ↑ Historic England. "New Bridge or Newton Bridge (that part in Bath)  (Grade II*) (1395726)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Tram on Newbridge Road c.1920s". Bath in Time. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  10. ↑ "Tram no 16 on the way to the Globe, Newton St Loe c.1930s". Bath in Time. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  11. ↑ "Horstmann Gear Co". Grace's Guide. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
  12. ↑ John Perkin. "A History Of Horstmann Controls". South Western Electricity Historical Society. Article S39. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
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