Bitterne Park

Bitterne Park
Bitterne Park
	Cobden Bridge crosses the River Itchen at Bitterne Park
	Bitterne Park Location within Southampton
Population	14,026 (2011 Census. Ward)
Unitary authority	Southampton;
Ceremonial county	Hampshire;
Region	South East;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	SOUTHAMPTON
Postcode district	SO18
Dialling code	023
Police	Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Fire	Hampshire and Isle of Wight
Ambulance	South Central
UK Parliament	Southampton Itchen;
	List of places UK England Hampshire 50°55′26″N 1°22′18″W / 50.9238°N 1.3718°W

Bitterne Park is a suburb and

Electoral Ward of Southampton, England, on the Eastern bank of the River Itchen, built on sloping parkland which once formed part of Bitterne Manor

.

Bitterne Park Ward includes the suburbs of Bitterne Park,

Harefield and Peartree

wards to the east.

History

A Bronze Age hoard mostly consisting of axe heads was found at Bond Road in 1894.[2]

The National Liberal Land Company purchased the land that is now Bitterne Park in 1882, and began developing it for residential purposes.^[3] An iron bridge was constructed across the Itchen to St Denys, thus improving access and vastly increasing the value of the land.

Local area

The area is largely residential, with Bitterne Park Triangle as its focal point. A number of shops cluster around the Triangle.

There have been no banking facilities since the closure of

take-away restaurants in Bitterne Park Triangle, including a fish and chip shop, a kebab house, Chinese restaurants, an American pizza house, Thai restaurants and an Indian restaurant

. There are various other facilities available such as a laundrette, convenience stores, craft beer pub, hairdresser, barbers and a bakery.

Bitterne Park is also home to several schools and local library. Since 2008 the Church of the Ascension has contained the lightest ring of twelve bells in the world.^[4]^[5]

Bitterne Park is at the Eastern end of

St. Denys on the Western bank of the River Itchen

. The Southern section of Southampton's Riverside Park is located in Bitterne Park. Riverside Park is host to a 1/5 mile miniature railway, children's play areas, two cricket pitches, a tennis court, a skate park, and several football pitches. The total size of Riverside Park is 32 hectares.