Staple Hill is a suburb 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 to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England, lying outside the city boundary in

South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. Towns in the area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part ...

. It is directly east of

Fishponds Fishponds is a large suburb in the north-east of the English city of Bristol, about from the city centre. It has two large Victorian-era parks: Eastville Park and Vassall's Park (once the Vassall Family estate, also known as Oldbury Court). T ...

, south of Downend, west of

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 ...

and north of Soundwell.

History

''Staple'' is a rendering of the Anglo-Saxon/Old English word ''stapol'' or ''staypole'' which meant a post in the sense of an old boundary marker. The settlement of Staple Hill developed in the 19th century. It was a hamlet in the ancient parish of Mangotsfield. Staple Hill was once within the ancient forest of Kingswood. This prevented by law of royal privilege anyone settling within the

Royal Forest A royal forest, occasionally known as a kingswood (), is an area of land with different definitions in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The term ''forest'' in the ordinary modern understanding refers to an area of wooded land; however, the ...

of Kingswood.

Development of the suburb and community

The modern settlement of Staple Hill originated in the 18th century by when forest law had become largely anachronistic and the wild boar and wolves which once made the forest dangerous were long since extinct (see

). Expansion of the settlement was facilitated after 1888 when the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

opened

Staple Hill railway station Staple Hill railway station was on the Midland Railway line between Bristol and Gloucester on the outskirts of Bristol. The station was on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway line, but opened in 1888, 44 years after the line had been opened th ...

, giving direct access to Bristol and Gloucester, and also to Bath by the

Mangotsfield and Bath branch line The Mangotsfield and Bath branch line was a railway line opened by the Midland Railway Company in 1869 to connect Bath to its network at Mangotsfield, on its line between Bristol and Birmingham. It was usually referred to as "the Bath branch" of ...

. The Bath line of the Midland Railway involved the construction of a beautifully engineered tunnel deep under the hill at Staple Hill. After this investment, Staple Hill grew beyond a small hamlet and gained tram and bus links with Bristol that allowed it to become a residence for commuters to Bristol or Bath. The station closed in 1966. Staple Hill briefly became a centre for engineering, with Wilson and Sons Engineering designing and assembling

Quasar (motorcycle) The Quasar is a semi-enclosed feet forward motorcycle, created by Malcolm Newell and Ken Leaman, who made a number of similar vehicles. It repurposed an 850 cc four-cylinder inline engine used in the Reliant Robin three-wheeled light car ...

s. This was a recumbent motorcycle built in small numbers which is today widely recognised as the first modern feet-forward motorcycle design.

Staple Hill today

Staple Hill has a wide-ranging high street and the architecture is largely Victorian with ornate roof ridges and eaves, attractive decorative brickwork and architectural features in stonemasonry. The High Street is broad as trams originally ran along its length. Page Park, which has been improved by volunteers from the community in recent years and celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2010. An event known as "Christmas on the Hill" takes place on the first Saturday in December during which entertainments along the main street take place with music, stall holders, treasure hunts and performances. The railway line and the station site has been converted to the Bristol & Bath Railway

cycle route Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wher ...

, one of the

Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United Kin ...

National Cycle routes. For a minor section in the central part of the ward, the path runs through Staple Hill tunnel as the land rises in this section, allowing for the hill above.

Governance

Between 1927 and 1974 Staple Hill was part of Mangotsfield Urban District. Between 1974 and 1996 it was part of

Kingswood Borough Kingswood was, from 1974 to 1996, a non-metropolitan district of the County of Avon, England. The district was formed by the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974 as part of a reform of local authorities throughout England and Wales. Under t ...

in the county of Avon, and it is now an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparish ...

in the

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

of South Gloucestershire. The area forms the Staple Hill

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

of South Gloucestershire. The elections on 7 May 2015 returned two Labour Party

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s, Shirley Potts and Ian Boulton.South Gloucestershire Council
Election Results.

References

{{South Gloucestershire Areas of Bristol South Gloucestershire District