Lockleaze is an area and

council ward A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

in the northern

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

s of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 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 b ...

, north of the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

, south of

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 ...

, east of

Horfield Horfield is a suburb of the city of Bristol, in southwest England. It lies on Bristol's northern edge, its border with Filton marking part of the boundary between Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Bishopston lies directly to the south. Monk ...

and west of

Frenchay Frenchay is a village in the County of South Gloucestershire, England, and the Civil Parish 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 '' ...

. Lockleaze is a residential area of social housing built on the western flank of

Purdown Purdown (sometimes spelt Pur Down) is a hill in the north east of 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 t ...

on a north–south axis, that was initially separated from Horfield by the main Bristol to

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

railway line. The suburb was developed immediately after

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 ...

. Although much of the housing was owned by Bristol Corporation, some are now privately owned. The Lockleaze council ward was extended to include older Bristol council housing and the border with Horfield is the thoroughfare, Filton Avenue. Lockleaze School was designed by the city architect A.H. Clarke and built in 1954. It is an early example of 'Method Building' using pre-cast frame with pre-stressed floors and brick panel walling. The school closed in July 2004. St Mary's Church dates from 1956 by T.H.B. Burrough. A microwave transmission tower,

Purdown BT Tower Purdown BT Tower, also known as Purdown Transmitter (sometimes written as ''Pur Down''), is a 70.1 metres (230 ft) tall telecommunications tower in Bristol, England. Built in 1970 for the British Telecom microwave network, it is now used to ...

, is located at Lockleaze and is known locally as the "Cups and Saucers". The distinctive tower, built in 1970, can be seen from many miles away. During World War II, an anti-aircraft gun emplacement, known locally as Purdown Purcy, was located on the down, the ruins of which remain today.

History

The estate takes its name from Lockleaze Farm, which occupied the site. The name ''Lock Leaze'' comes from the Anglo-Saxon for a fold in a field or pasture. Lockleaze Farm stood roughly where Bonnington Walk is today, between Stothard Road, Branwhite Close and Thornycroft Close. The farm stood at the end of Lockleaze Lane; neither the lane nor the farm buildings remain today. Lockleaze Lane was a continuation of Berry Lane, which began at the junction between Gloucester Road and the present-day Muller Road, at Horfield Court Farm. The lane followed the route of Muller Road, Filton Avenue, Berry Lane and Chedworth Road, before crossing the gas works and crossing the railway at the present day Constable Road/Lockleaze Road bridge. On the south side of Chedworth Road stood Berry Lane Farm. As well as Lockleaze Farm there was also Purdown Farm which stands at the site of present-day Fairacre Close. The old farmhouse remained long after the houses were built at Haydon Gardens. Nearly all the roads in Lockleaze are named after painters, such as

Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

Blake Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presuma ...

, Hogarth and Nash.

Amenities

The hub of Lockleaze is Gainsborough Square, where parades of shops face onto the north and west sides of the Square. On the east side of the Square, a new Community Centre has been built named The Hub. At the south side of the Square is the Church of St. Mary Magdalene with St. Francishe. The central green area of Gainsborough Square serves as a small park, with an enclosed child's play area. The nearest police station is on Southmead Road, in the neighbouring district of Southmead. Lockleaze once had its own police station on Gainsborough Square. A doctor's surgery is located on Lockleaze Road. Lockleaze is served by a bus service operated by

First West of England First West of EnglandCompanies House extract company no 25088
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, with several bus stops throughout Lockleaze.

Famous people

*Boxer

Lee Haskins Lee Haskins (born 29 January 1983) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2003 and February 2020. He held the IBF bantamweight title from 2015 to 2017, and the IBF interim title in 2015. At regional level, he held the Commo ...

was born in Lockleaze *Robin Boardman-Pattison, a senior

Extinction Rebellion Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...

personality known for storming off a

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the hea ...

interview, lived in Lockleaze

In popular culture

The Channel 4 sitcom ''

Teachers A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

'' was filmed at Lockleaze school. Lockleaze provided a backdrop in the 1962 film '' Some People'' directed by Clive Donner, starring

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, Order of the British Empire#Current classes, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many ...

Angela Douglas Angela Douglas (born 29 October 1940), born Angela McDonagh, is an English actress. Early life Douglas was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. Career Douglas started acting as a teenager, joining the Worthing, West Sussex repertory comp ...

and Ray Brooks. The film is about a

youth work Youth work is community support activity aimed at older children and adolescents. Depending upon the culture and the community, different services and institutions may exist for this purpose. In the United Kingdom youth work is the process of cre ...

er (Kenneth More) trying to help a group of teenagers in Bristol. In the film, several Lockleaze landmarks were shown, including Purdown, the communication tower and the large gas holders which once stood just off Lockleaze Road. Lockleaze was also the setting for the series finale of

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

's 2016 drama miniseries ''

Thirteen Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 * ...

'', starring

Jodie Comer Jodie Marie Comer ( ; born 11 March 1993) is an English actress who rose to global prominence for her role as Oksana Astankova / Villanelle in the BBC America spy thriller ''Killing Eve'' (2018–2022). She has received various accolades inc ...

References

External links

Children’s Fund report - Lockleaze Geographical AreaLockleaze 2006 Ward Profile
{{Districts of Bristol Areas of Bristol Wards of Bristol