Whitchurch, Bristol

Whitchurch
Whitchurch
	Boundaries of the city council ward.
Population	11,061 (2001)
OS grid reference	ST611676
Unitary authority	Bristol (Whitchurch Park only), Bath and North East Somerset;
Ceremonial county	Somerset and Bristol;
Region	South West;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRISTOL
Postcode district	BS14
Dialling code	01275
UK Parliament	Bristol South;
	List of places UK England 51°24′23″N 2°33′34″W / 51.4064°N 2.5594°W

Whitchurch is a village in north

Hengrove and Knowle

to the north. The suburb was initially developed during the 1930s.

The A37 road, which passes through Whitchurch, links Bristol with Dorchester. Within Bristol the A37 is known as Wells Road. It was one of the first dual carriageways to be built in Bristol.

History

The name means "the white church", and was first recorded in 1230. (Another source dated about 1500 may be a copy of a record dated to 1065).

Hundred in Somerset.^[5]

The parish became a civil parish in 1866. The northern parts of the civil parish were transferred to Bristol in the 1930s and 1951.[6] From then Whitchurch was divided between a suburb of Bristol and a village outside the city in Somerset.

The suburb of Bristol

The suburb now lies in the council wards of

Whitchurch Park

and Hengrove.

The suburb is one of only two parts of Bristol not to use the 0117 dialling code. Along with Stockwood, Whitchurch numbers use the 01275 of north Somerset instead.

Facilities close by include the

Hengrove Leisure Park which includes various restaurants/food retailers (Frankie & Benny's, McDonald's). Adjacent to the leisure park is Hawkfield Business Park

, which is a significant source of commerce and employment for the suburb.

The suburb is home to the Whitchurch Sports Centre, and used to be an occasional venue for pro-boxing bouts. It has a dilapidated Whitchurch athletics stadium. The sports centre is also earmarked for demolition, once the new sports centre and olympic sized swimming pool are finished as part of the expanded Hengrove Leisure Park redevelopment. In October 2006, Whitchurch Sports Centre was taken over by Action Sport UK, a South African company. Some of Whitchurch Sports Centre's activities are now based at Withywood Sports Centre and Ashton Park School Sports Centre. The suburb is also home to rugby union club Bristol Barbarians who reside in Norton lane. The club currently play in Somerset 1 and are coached by Steve Penfold. Whitchurch is also the birthplace of famous snooker player and world champion Judd Trump.

On 2 August 2005 the beginnings of a tornado (a funnel) floated in the skies above South Bristol. As it did not touch it cannot be classed as a tornado but nevertheless it provided an unusual yet impressive sight for the residents of Whitchurch and surrounding parts of Bristol, such as Stockwood.^[7]

The village

The village of Whitchurch is a

Bath and Northeast Somerset. In the 2001 census the civil parish had a population of 1,354.^[8]

Between 1925 and 1959 the village was served by Whitchurch Halt, a station on the Bristol and North Somerset Railway.

Church

The

St. Augustine's Church

on Whitchurch Lane was opened in 1972 but closed in 2007.

Airport

Liverpool Airport were the only civil airports in England to remain in use during World War II. Imperial Airways (later BOAC) flew to Lisbon in neutral Portugal: at one time in 1941 there were 1200 people waiting for a flight to Lisbon.^[10] There were also a large number of espionage flights to France and elsewhere in occupied Europe. When the war finished, Bristol needed a larger airport. Farm land in Lulsgate was purchased and Lulsgate Airport (later to be Bristol Airport) was opened. For a short time from 1959, the old airport was used as a motor racing circuit Whitchurch Circuit for Formula Two and Formula Three

races. The airport is also the home of st bernadettes rugby club currently playing in Somerset prem. Current club captain also plays international rugby for Jordan.

References

^ "Whitchurch" (PDF). 2001 Census Ward Information Sheet. Retrieved 20 February 2007.
^ Watts, Victor, ed. (2010), "Whitchurch, Avon", The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Cambridge University Press
^ "History". Whitchurch Parish Council. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
^ "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales". 1870. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
^ "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
^ Vision of Britain website
^ BBC News
^ "Whitchurch Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
^ Map of parish
^ Bristol Record Office accession 44394: Doris Ogilvie diary

External links

Map of Whitchurch circa 1900: west, east
Whitchurch Car Boot Sale Whitchurch Car Boot Sale

[1] "Whitchurch" (PDF). 2001 Census Ward Information Sheet. Retrieved 20 February 2007.

[2] Watts, Victor, ed. (2010), "Whitchurch, Avon", The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Cambridge University Press

[3] "History". Whitchurch Parish Council. Retrieved 21 January 2015.

[4] "Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales". 1870. Retrieved 21 January 2015.

[5] "Somerset Hundreds". GENUKI. Retrieved 15 October 2011.

[6] Vision of Britain website

[7] BBC News

[8] "Whitchurch Parish". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 December 2013.

[9] Map of parish

[10] Bristol Record Office accession 44394: Doris Ogilvie diary

[1]

[5]

[7]

[8]

[10]

Parliament constituencies		Bristol West Bristol East Bristol South Bristol North West
Wards	Ashley Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston Bedminster Bishopston and Ashley Down Bishopsworth Brislington East Brislington West Central Clifton Clifton Down Cotham Easton Eastville Filwood Frome Vale Hartcliffe and Withywood Henbury and Brentry Hengrove and Whitchurch Park Hillfields Horfield Hotwells and Harbourside Knowle Lawrence Hill Lockleaze Redland Southmead Southville St George Central St George Troopers Hill St George West Stockwood Stoke Bishop Westbury-on-Trym and Henleaze Windmill Hill See also: List of wards in Bristol by population
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 Broom Hill near Brislington Broomhill near Fishponds 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 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 Emersons Green Filton Frenchay Hambrook Hanham Kingswood Little Stoke Longwell Green Mangotsfield Oldland Common Patchway Soundwell Staple Hill Stoke Gifford Warmley Whitchurch Willsbridge