Bitterne Park is a suburb and Electoral Ward of

Southampton Southampton () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire, S ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, 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, Bitterne Manor, Midanbury and Townhill Park, and had a population of 14,026 at the 2011 Census. The ward is bounded by

Bevois Bevois ( ) is an Electoral Ward in the Unitary Authority of Southampton, England comprising the suburbs Bevois Valley, Nicholstown and Northam, with a population of 16,844. The ward is bounded by (clockwise from north) Portswood Ward, Bittern ...

, Portswood and

Swaythling Swaythling is a suburb and electoral ward of the city of Southampton in Hampshire, England. The ward has a population of 13,664. Swaythling is predominantly residential in character, and noted for its large student population due to its prox ...

wards across the River Itchen to the west, and

Harefield Harefield is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, England, northwest of Charing Cross near Greater London's boundary with Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the north. The population at the 2011 Census was 7,399. Ha ...

and Peartree wards to the east.

History

A bronze age hoard mostly consisting of axe heads was found at Bond Road in 1894. The National Liberal Land Company purchased the land that is now Bitterne Park in 1882, and began developing it for residential purposes. 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

NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

's Triangle branch in the 1990s and later the

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

branch, in 2005; however, there are three cash machines. There are a number of

take-away A take-out or takeout (U.S., Canada, and the Philippines); carry-out or to-go (Scotland and some dialects in the U.S. and Canada); takeaway (England, Wales, Australia, Lebanon, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Ireland, and occasionally in Nort ...

restaurants in Bitterne Park Triangle, including a fish and chip shop, a

kebab Kebab (, ; ar, كباب, link=no, Latn, ar, kabāb, ; tr, kebap, link=no, ) or kabob (North American) is a type of cooked meat dish (food), dish that originates from Middle Eastern cuisine, cuisines of the Middle East. Many variants of the ...

house, Chinese restaurants, an American

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, ...

house,

Thai restaurants Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode b ...

and an

Indian restaurant Indian cuisine consists of a variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to India. Given the diversity in soil, climate, culture, ethnic groups, and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially and use locally available spices, herb ...

. There are various other facilities available such as a laundrette, convenience stores, a hairdresser and a bakery. Bitterne Park is also home to several schools, a local library, and a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Centre. Since 2008 the Church of the Ascension has contained the lightest ring of twelve bells in the world.New Bells To Ring Out At City Church (from Daily Echo)
/ref> Bitterne Park is at the Eastern edge of the

Cobden Bridge Cobden Bridge is a major road bridge in Southampton, UK. It crosses the River Itchen joining the suburbs of St Denys and Bitterne Park. It forms part of the A3035. The present bridge dates from 1928, but there has been a bridge on this site ...

, which links the area to 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 and several football pitches.

References

External links

Bitternepark.info
{{Districts of Southampton Wards of Southampton