Lodge Hill is a hill and residential area 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 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 ...

. It is in the electoral ward of

Hillfields, Bristol Hillfields is an area and ward of north-east Bristol. The Ward of Hillfields covers the following areas of Bristol: * * * * * Lodge Hill * * * Hillfields itself is a relatively modern area of Bristol on the outskirts of Fishponds developed sin ...

, separating the large outer urban areas 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 ...

and Kingswood.

Cossham Memorial Hospital Cossham Memorial Hospital is a community hospital, founded in 1907, in Hillfields, Bristol, near Kingswood, South Gloucestershire, England. History The hospital was built by Frederick Bligh Bond in a Queen Anne style between 1905 and 1907, as a ...

is at its peak which is the highest point in urban Bristol at 369 ft (112 m). It has a population of 1,722 (est).

Early history

Lodge Hill once had commanding views of 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, known to have been used by kings for hunting since

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times. Reached by

Lodge Causeway Lodge Causeway is an ancient passage through the former Royal Forest of Kingswood and now the main road between Fishponds and Kingswood in Bristol, England. The road is designated the B4048. The Causeway led to Kingswood Lodge at the top of ...

at the top of the hill once stood King John’s Lodge or Kingswood Lodge, named after its most famous resident. A lodge is thought to have existed since the 13th century, certainly a two-storey building existed before 1610. During the mid-to-late 19th century an old iron smelting tower was incorporated into the building and it was known as Kingswood Castle, by now a substantial building with castellated roof lines. At one time it was used as a

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

and in 1928 the cellar still contained the vault of the original tower which had very thick walls and an underground passage which led to Hill House, overlooking Staple Hill. It was pulled down soon afterwards. The area around Lodge Hill was studded by coalpits, where the deepest was reported as 600 ft (183 m) deep in 1793. A large coalpit known as the Kingswood Lodge Coalpit once existing on the hill between Cossham Memorial Hospital and Charlton Road. On 11 Apr 1833, five boys were rescued there after being trapped for six nights. The pit, belonging to Messrs. Brain & Co had an even more serious incident six years later when 11 workers died after water flooded the pit.

Shoe manufacturing

In 1900 G.B. Britton & Sons, left their original premises in Waters Road, Kingswood, and set up a larger factory on Lodge Road. In 1914 the factory was further expanded to provide army boots in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and at its peak just before the

Second World War 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 ...

employed 11,000 people. In 1941, the factory on Lodge road was requisitioned by the

Ministry of Aircraft Production Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

to build aircraft components. Boot and shoe manufacturing resumed in 1945 and included the TUF boot exported and manufactured widely overseas leading to a second factory on Lodge Road built in 1959. Manufacturing ended and the factory finally shut in 2001,BBC News, Shoe makers lose city foothold.
Retrieved on 2007-11-19. under the ownership of the UK Safe group who have relocated the sales and operations elsewhere in Bristol.

Pubs and facilities

The Chequers

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

on Lodge Road served the area, and was known for its live music but has been closed. GB Britton’s

Lawn bowling Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

Club still exists on Ingleside Road, and the small park abreast Lodge Hill has great views of East Bristol.

References

{{Areas of Bristol Areas of Bristol