Brentry is a suburb of north

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, between

Henbury Henbury is a suburb of Bristol, England, approximately north west of the city centre. It was formerly a village in Gloucestershire and is now bordered by Westbury-on-Trym to the south; Brentry to the east and the Blaise Castle Estate, Blaise Ha ...

and

Southmead Southmead is a northern suburb and council ward of Bristol, in the south west of England, bordered by Filton in South Gloucestershire and Monks Park, Horfield, Henleaze and Westbury on Trym. The River Trym rises in Southmead and flows south we ...

which is spread along the southern edge of the Filton to Avonmouth railway line.

Description

The boundaries of Brentry are not well defined. The settlement grew around the junction of two roads, where a public house, the Old Crow, has long been established. The north-south road, Passage Road (now the

A4018 The A4018 is an A-road connecting the city centre of Bristol to the M5 motorway at Cribbs Causeway. It is one of the four principal roads which link central Bristol to the motorway network (the others being the M32 motorway, the A38 and the ...

), was a

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

road from Bristol to South Wales via

New Passage New Passage is a hamlet in South Gloucestershire, England, on the banks of the Severn estuary near the village of Pilning. It takes its name from the ferry service which operated between there and South Wales until 1886. Ferry History New Pas ...

or the Old Passage at

Aust Ferry Aust Ferry or Beachley Ferry was a ferry service that operated across the River Severn between Aust and Beachley, both in Gloucestershire, England. Before the Severn Bridge opened in 1966, it provided service for road traffic crossing between ...

. When the new Filton By-Pass (now part of the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

) was opened in 1962, the route became an arterial road linking the new road to the centre of Bristol. The east-west route (B4057) is now of only local importance, but in the 1930s it carried A38 traffic by-passing Bristol. The through route was cut by the runway for the giant

Bristol Brabazon The Bristol Type 167 Brabazon was a large British piston-engined propeller-driven airliner designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company to fly transatlantic routes between the UK and the United States. The type was named ''Brabazon'' after th ...

aircraft built in 1949. The area east of the junction was developed in the 20th century, and Brentry is now sometimes considered to extend as far as the Filton Golf Course, south of

Filton Aerodrome Filton Airport or Filton Aerodrome was a private airport in Filton and Patchway, within South Gloucestershire, north of Bristol, England. Description The airfield was bounded by the A38 road to the east, and the former London to Avonmouth ...

, including an area east of Charlton Road known as Charlton Mead, named from the former hamlet of Charlton. Brentry has a mix of private housing and former

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

. It has a primary school.

Pen Park Hole Pen Park Hole is a large cavern situated underground, at the edge of Filton Golf Course. The cavern was discovered accidentally in the 17th Century and the first descent was made by Captain Sturmy in 1669. The entrance is adjacent to the Southmead ...

is a large cavern, to which access is strictly limited, near Brentry at the edge of Filton Golf Course.

Brentry Hospital Brentry Hospital was a hospital in Brentry, a northern suburb of Bristol, England. The building was constructed as a family home, one among many English country houses for the Somerset gentry. Now known as Repton Hall, after its famous architect, ...

was founded in 1898 as the Brentry Certified Inebriate Reformatory. The grounds, now known as Royal Victoria Park, are Grade II listed by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

in the

Register of Historic Parks and Gardens The Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England provides a listing and classification system for historic parks and gardens similar to that used for listed buildings. The register is managed by Historic England ...

Industry

Brentry is a predominantly residential area. There are however pockets of industry and commerce namely Charlton Road, Charlton Lane and Wyck Beck Road. A former hospital laundry site just off Charlton Road now sees the

Pieminister Pieminister is a pie making company based in Bristol, South West England. Pieminister pies can be found in their restaurants, supermarkets and online, as well as various pubs and deli shops across the UK. As of 2022, Pieminister has restaurants an ...

Pie Factory. On Charlton Road there is a row of shops with a hairdresser, convenience grocery store and take-aways. On Wyck Beck Road there is a car repair garage,

blue glass Cobalt glass—known as "smalt" when ground as a pigment—is a deep blue coloured glass prepared by including a cobalt compound, typically cobalt oxide or cobalt carbonate, in a glass melt. Cobalt is a very intense colouring agent and very litt ...

retailer and car hire business. The closest major commercial and industrial hubs are

Avonmouth Docks The Avonmouth Docks are part of the Port of Bristol, in England. They are situated on the northern side of the mouth of the River Avon, opposite the Royal Portbury Dock on the southern side, where the river joins the Severn estuary, within Avo ...

where there is light and

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

Cribbs Causeway Cribbs Causeway is both a road in South Gloucestershire, England, running north of the city of Bristol, and the adjacent area which is notable for its out-of-town shopping and leisure facilities. The retail and leisure complex takes its name fr ...

is the nearest major retail hub. There are also major employment sites in nearby

Filton Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton Church d ...

where a significant regional aerospace presence can be found.

References

{{Bristol Areas of Bristol