Stoke Bishop

Stoke Bishop
Boundaries of the city council ward
Stoke Bishop shown within Bristol
Population	9,269 [1]
OS grid reference	ST563759
Unitary authority	Bristol
Ceremonial county	Bristol
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRISTOL
Postcode district	BS9
Dialling code	0117
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Bristol North West

Stoke Bishop is a very affluent and medium-sized outer city suburb in the north-west of Bristol, located in between Westbury-on-Trym, Sneyd Park, and Sea Mills. Although relatively small, Stoke Bishop's population has increased due to substantial infilling on the Smelting Works sports ground and The Grove which used to belong to Clifton High school. The population of Stoke Bishop varies throughout the year because of the influx of students to the large campus of halls of residence situated on the edge of the suburb and the Downs during university term time.

Stoke Bishop is also the name of a council ward, which also includes Sneyd Park, most of the Downs and a small area of Sea Mills along the River Trym.^[2]

The suburb is concentrated around a small village hall and a row of shops on Druid Hill, with a number of small local businesses. The association with Druids arose from a megalithic monument, apparently the remains of a burial chamber, discovered in 1811 off what is now Druid Hill.^[3] Druid Stoke House, a Grade II listed building west of Druid Hill dates from the late 18th or early 19th century.^[4] The suburb of Druid Stoke was developed in the grounds of Druid Stoke House in the 1930s.^[3]

Druid Hill

Within Stoke Bishop there is a church, St Mary Magdalene (CofE); one primary school, Stoke Bishop C of E Primary, sometimes called Cedar Park, because of its location; and a village hall, which is used for a variety of activities from dog training to karate. There also remains one playing field, Stoke Lodge, mainly used by local schools for athletics, football, and cricket. Recently, a children's play park has been added to this field with parking available at the lodge itself which hosts the thriving Stoke Bishop Adult Adult Education Centre.

The historic Stoke House and Park lie in Stoke Bishop. The house was built in 1669 as a family mansion for Sir Robert Cann, Member of Parliament, Mayor of Bristol and Merchant Venturer. It is currently occupied by Trinity College, Bristol.^[5]

Stoke Bishop Cricket Club play at Coombe Dingle Sports Complex. The cricket club has two senior men's XIs: the 2010 season has just finished with the 1st XI winning Bristol & District League Division 1 (thus gaining promotion to the Senior Division of the Bristol & District League), while the 2nd XI finished 5th in Bristol & District League Division 2. The club also boasts a thriving junior section composed of U9, U11, U13, U15 and U17 teams.

Next to the primary school is Bristol Croquet Club, which has had many influential international members.

The small port of Abona at Sea Mills at the mouth of the River Trym was used by the Roman military forces passing in transit to Roman settlements in what is now South Wales. There are ruins of a small Roman villa at the entrance to Roman Way from the Portway. The Roman legionaries had a transit camp on what were the grounds of Nazareth House (a Roman Catholic Orphanage) near that villa. Nazareth House was used until the 1970s and was then demolished.^[6] Bombs fell in Roman Way during the Second World War, destroying one house completely.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stoke Bishop (Bristol ward).