Frenchay is a village in the County of South Gloucestershire, England, and the
Civil Parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...
of
Winterbourne. It is on the outskirts to the north east of the city of Bristol.
Frenchay was first recorded in 1257 as ''Fromscawe'' and later as ''Fromeshaw'', meaning ''the wood on the Frome''.
The village is situated between the B4058 road, which runs parallel to the
M32 motorway, and the wooded
River Frome valley.
Frenchay's largest place of worship is the
Anglican Church
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
of
St John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
, adjacent to the large village common, which is overlooked by a number of 18th-century houses principally built by wealthy Quaker families. These include the very fine former Rectory, Bradford's House and the adjacent Frenchay Common House. Also overlooking the common is the village school which dates from 1842. The village also contains a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
church, a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
Meeting House and a
Unitarian chapel.
Cricket was played on Frenchay Common from early in the nineteenth century, apparently on the initiative of the Wadham family who lived at Frenchay Manor House, owned farms locally at
Doynton
Doynton is a village in South Gloucestershire, England. The population of this village taken at the 2011 census was 320.
Setting
Doynton is a village situated on the lower slopes of the Cotswolds, approximately two miles south-east of Pucklec ...
, Pomfrey,
Mangotsfield
Mangotsfield is an urban area and former village in the unitary authority area of South Gloucestershire, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England, to the north-east of Bristol.
The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 ...
,
Downend and Frenchay, and many of whom are buried in the graveyard of
St John the Baptist Church.
W.G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace (18 July 1848 – 23 October 1915) was an English amateur cricketer who was important in the development of the sport and is widely considered one of its greatest players. He played first-class cricket for a record-equal ...
, the famous Victorian cricketer, whose family lived in the next village of Downend, was captain of the village cricket team. The Frenchay Cricket Club, which is said to have been the first village club in the county, was established in 1846.
Frenchay gives its name to the Frenchay Campus of the
University of the West of England
The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a public research university, located in and around Bristol, England.
The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...
, though the campus itself is situated in the neighbouring parish of
Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford is a village and parish in South Gloucestershire, England, in the northern suburbs of Bristol. It had around 11,000 residents at the 2001 census, increasing to 15,494 at the 2011 census. It is home to Bristol Parkway station an ...
.
Frenchay was the home to
Frenchay Hospital
Frenchay Hospital was a large hospital situated in Frenchay, South Gloucestershire, on the north east outskirts of Bristol, England, which is now closed. In 2014, it contracted to a few brain and head injuries services. It was managed by North Br ...
, greatly expanded during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
for the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
, which treated wounded soldiers returning from the
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
landings in
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. Facilities merged with
Southmead Hospital
Southmead Hospital is a large public National Health Service hospital, situated in the area of Southmead, though in Horfield ward, in the northern suburbs of Bristol, England. It is part of the North Bristol NHS Trust. The 800-bed Brunel Buildi ...
, further towards the centre of the city in 2014. A&E services closed on 19 May 2014. The closure of Frenchay Hospital has made way for a new housing development.
Frenchay village has much green space, including the common, walks along the River Frome, and a moor owned by
The National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
. The Village Hall is a village hub, and there is an annual village flower show.
Frenchay's earliest place of worship was the
Quaker Meeting House
A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where meeting for worship is usually held.
Typically, Friends meeting houses are simple and resemble local residential buildings. Steeples, spires, and ...
. The present one dates from 1809, and it replaced an earlier one of 1670.
Many Quaker merchants from nearby Bristol made their homes here, including
Joseph Storrs Fry
Joseph Storrs Fry (1767–1835) was an English chocolate and confectionery manufacturer and a member of the Fry Family of Bristol, England.
Early life
He was born in 1767, son of Joseph Fry (1728–1787), in business as a manufacturer of choc ...
, the Quaker chocolate manufacturer, who styled his company
J S Fry & Sons, which manufactured the first ever commercially available chocolate bar in the world. He moved to Grove House (now Riverwood House) in 1800. He died in 1835 and is buried in the burying ground behind the Meeting House along with his wife and daughter, Pricilla.
John Wadham (1762–1843) of Frenchay Manor House, was from 1789, a co-owner and director of Wadham, Ricketts & Co, later Wadham, Ricketts, Fry & Co, which manufactured
Bristol blue glass
Bristol blue glass has been made in Bristol, England, since the 18th century, with a break between the 1920s and 1980s.
History
During the late 18th century Richard Champion, a Bristol merchant and potter, making Bristol porcelain, was workin ...
at the Phoenix Glassworks near Temple Gate,
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 ...
, examples of which can be seen in
Bristol Museum
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture it is run by the Bristol City Council with no entrance fee. It holds ...
, and was a director of the Bristol
Floating Harbour
Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...
Company in 1820.
His son Thomas Wadham (1797–1849)
was
High Sheriff of Bristol
This is a list of Civic Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of the County of the City of Bristol, England.
The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The High Sheriff remained first in precedence ...
in 1843, the year that
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
launched his ship
SS Great Britain
SS ''Great Britain'' is a museum ship and former passenger steamship that was advanced for her time. She was the largest passenger ship in the world from 1845 to 1854. She was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–1859), for the Great We ...
in
Bristol Harbour
Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...
. Thomas Wadham and his son the Rev. John Wadham were active in setting up the Winterbourne National School and his daughters were involved on the school's women's committee.
Thomas's son
Edward Wadham (1828–1913), Mineral Agent to
Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch
Walter Francis Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch, 7th Duke of Queensberry, (born Walter Francis Montagu-Scott; 25 November 1806 – 16 April 1884), styled Lord Eskdail between 1808 and 1812 and Earl of Dalkeith between 1812 and 18 ...
took his skills as a civil engineer who had worked under Brunel and his love of cricket to
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...
where, from 1851 until his death in 1913, he played an important part in the development of what had been a tiny hamlet into the biggest iron and steel centre in the world, and a major ship-building force, in just forty years.
[Wadham diaries held by the ]Cumbria Archive Service
Cumbria Archive Service serves the English county of Cumbria. Rather than having just one county record office, Cumbria County Council operates four local record offices, now known as archive centres, in Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Kendal and W ...
.
Frenchay Park, an adjacent suburb, is situated within
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 ...
city limits.
Notable people
*
Peter Donald
Peter Donald (June 6, 1918 – April 20, 1979) was a British-born actor who worked in American radio and television. He has been called "one of radio's great dialecticians."Cox, Jim (2007). ''Radio Speakers: Narrators, News Junkies, Sports Jockey ...
(born 1957), cricketer
References
{{Areas of Bristol
Civil Parish of Winterbourne
Areas of Bristol
Villages in South Gloucestershire District