Bedminster, Bristol
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Bedminster, colloquially known as Bemmy, is a district of
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, England, on the south side of the city. It is also the name of a council ward which includes the central part of the district. The eastern part of Bedminster is known as Windmill Hill. To the south is Bedminster Down. Southville ward is also part of Bedminster.


History

Bedminster was once a small town in
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
. The town's origins seem to be
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
, centred on the present East Street and West Street. Finds here have been interpreted as an enclosed rural farmstead, dating between the 2nd and 4th centuries, but with possible
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
origins. The river Malago, which runs through Bedminster to join the Avon, was an early Christian place for
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
s—the old word for which, ''beydd'', may be the origin of Bedminster's name. Substantial Roman remains have also been found at Bedminster Down, including plaster, tesserae (hence
mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
floors), sandstone roof tiles, coins and pottery, hence the site is thought to be a
Roman Villa A Roman villa was typically a farmhouse or country house in the territory of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, sometimes reaching extravagant proportions. Nevertheless, the term "Roman villa" generally covers buildings with the common ...
occupied by the
Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, ...
. By the late
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
period Bedminster was a manor held by King
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
in the 11th century, and in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
of 1086 was still in royal hands. The Royal Manor of Bedminster comprised all the land south of the Avon, from the
Avon Gorge The Avon Gorge () is a 1.5-mile (2.5-kilometre) long Canyon, gorge on the River Avon (Bristol), River Avon in Bristol, England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge west of Bristol city centre, and about 3 miles (5&nbs ...
to
Brislington Brislington is an area in the south east of the city of Bristol, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from Bath, Somerset, Bath. Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley and St Anne's Wood. Brislingto ...
, and in the
Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...
had 25
villein A villein is a class of serfdom, serf tied to the land under the feudal system. As part of the contract with the lord of the manor, they were expected to spend some of their time working on the lord's fields in return for land. Villeins existe ...
s, 3
slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
s and 27
smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...
s. In 1154 it was given to the Lords of Berkeley, who kept it for 300 years. In 1605 it was purchased by the Smyth family of Ashton Court who remained the
Lords of the Manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
until the 19th century. In 1644, during the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, Bedminster was sacked by Prince Rupert. When
John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...
preached there in the 1760s, it was a sprawling, decayed market town, with
orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...
s next to
brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a clay pit, quar ...
,
ropewalk A ropewalk is a long straight narrow lane, or a covered pathway, where long strands of material are laid before being twisted into rope. Due to the length of some ropewalks, workers may use bicycles to get from one end to the other. Many ropew ...
s and the beginnings of a mining industry. Open cast coal mining had been done on a small scale since the 1670s, but in 1748 the first shafts were sunk by Sir Jarrit Smyth at South Liberty Lane. By the end of the century there were eighteen coal-pits operating in the Bedminster and Ashton Vale coalfield. Between 1804 and 1809 the New Cut was excavated through the northern part of the parish from Temple Meads to Hotwells, providing a new course for the River Avon, enabling the original course to be held at a constant level so that shipping could stay afloat 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 River Avon, Bristol, Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was preven ...
, now known as the Floating Harbour. In addition to removing the tides, the new cut also helped with reducing silting in the harbour. In 1840 the
shipbuilder Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...
Acramans, Morgan and Co opened the Bedminster Yard on the New Cut, to build a number of steam ships including two large vessels for the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the 2,000 tonne ''Avon'' and ''Severn'' in 1842. In 1862 John Payne Ltd took over the yard, then known as the Vauxhall Yard, and continued to build coastal
cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
s, and small craft such as tugs. They closed in 1925, and the site was taken over by Bristol Metal
Welding Welding is a fabrication (metal), fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, primarily by using high temperature to melting, melt the parts together and allow them to cool, causing Fusion welding, fusion. Co ...
and Spraying Company, who are still in business there today. The population of Bedminster increased rapidly, from 3,000 in 1801 to 78,000 in 1884, mostly as a result of the coalfield and industries such as smelting, tanneries, glue-works, paint and glass factories. In the 1880s two major employers moved there – E. S. & A. Robinson (paper bag manufacturers) and W.D. & H.O. Wills (cigarette and cigar makers). The population overflowed to Windmill Hill, Totterdown, Southville, the Chessels and Bedminster Down. During this time, churches,
public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...
s,
shop Shop or shopping may refer to: Business and commerce * A casual word for a commercial establishment or for a place of business * Machine shop, a workshop for machining *"In the shop", referring to a car being at an automotive repair shop * Reta ...
s and businesses were built, some of which still survive. Victoria Park was laid out at the north of Bedminster in the late 1880s to provide recreational facilities for the new housing development. Bedminster Town Hall was erected in 1891. In
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Bedminster was one of several areas of Bristol that were heavily bombed during the
Bristol Blitz The Bristol Blitz was the heavy bombing of Bristol, England by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War. Due to the presence of Bristol Harbour and the Bristol Aeroplane Company, the city was a target for bombing and was ea ...
. Post-war town planning relocated most of the heavy industry to the rural areas to the south of the parish, and new estates grew up in Withywood, Hartcliffe and Highridge.
Bedminster, New Jersey Bedminster is a Township (New Jersey), township in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 8,272, an increase of 107 (+1.3%) from the 201 ...
, chartered by King George II in 1748, was named after Bedminster in Bristol.


Administrative history

The parish of Bedminster was part of the
hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
of Hartcliffe. The parish anciently extended north up to the original course of the River Avon at Bristol Bridge, in what is now the city centre of Bristol. Several early chapelries were created within the parish covering where the urban area of Bristol was growing south of the river, including
Temple Church The Temple Church, a royal peculiar in the Church of England, is a church in the Inner Temple, Inner and Middle Temple, Middle Temple, London, Temples located between Fleet Street and the River Thames, built by the Knights Templar for their En ...
by 1147, St Mary Redcliffe by 1158, and St Thomas the Martyr by 1200. These chapelries subsequently became separate
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
es, and were transferred from Somerset to Bristol when it was made a
county corporate A county corporate or corporate county was a type of subnational division used for the administration of justice in certain towns and cities in England, Wales, and Ireland. They arose when the monarch gave a borough corporation the right to appoi ...
in 1373. The ancient parish of Bedminster also extended westwards into a rural area which subsequently became the parish of Abbots Leigh. Although treated as separate civil parishes from the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, Abbots Leigh, St Mary Redcliffe and St Thomas the Martyr remained part of the
ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
of Bedminster until 1852. Having lost Abbots Leigh and ceded the three former chapelries in the Redcliffe area to Bristol in the Middle Ages, the boundaries of the civil parish then remained essentially unchanged, and entirely in Somerset, until the nineteenth century. In 1803 the Act of Parliament authorising the construction of the New Cut of the River Avon transferred the northern strip of Bedminster parish, as lay between the old course of the river and the proposed New Cut, from Somerset into the city and county of Bristol, but left the parish boundary unaffected. In 1836 a further area lying south of the New Cut, including the village (as it was then described) of Bedminster itself, was also brought within Bristol's city boundaries. After 1803 the civil parish of Bedminster therefore straddled Somerset and the city and county of Bristol, until the
Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...
directed that parishes could no longer straddle county boundaries. The parish was then split into two parts; a reduced Bedminster parish covering the parts within the city of Bristol and a parish called "Bedminster Without" covering the parts outside the city. Bedminster Without ceded further territory to Bristol in 1898 and was renamed
Bishopsworth Bishopsworth is a suburban neighbourhood and wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of the city of Bristol. It is located in the south of the city and has a high proportion of council housing. Local facilities include shops and pubs, a pu ...
shortly afterwards, which in turn was abolished as a parish in 1951, mostly being absorbed into Bristol. Within the city, the parish of Bedminster was abolished on 30 September 1896, becoming part of a short-lived civil parish called South Bristol before all the parishes in the city were united into a single civil parish called Bristol in 1898. In 1891 the parish had a population of 54,194.


Education

There is one Children's Nursery and five primary schools in Bedminster: * North Street Nursery * Holy Cross RC Primary School * Parson Street Primary School * Victoria Park Primary School * Compass Point: South Street School and Children's Centre (known as South Street Primary School before April 2010) * Oasis Academy Marksbury Road And one secondary school, Bedminster Down School.


Transport

The two main shopping streets in Bedminster, East Street and North Street, form part of the
A38 road The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol Road and Gloucester Road, Bristol, Gloucester Road, is a major A-class trunk road in England. The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, mak ...
, extending from Bedminster Bridge over the New Cut to Bedminster Down. The Bristol to Exeter railway line passes through Bedminster, and there are two railway stations, Bedminster and Parson Street. The former Ashton Gate station used to serve the Ashton area and
Bristol City F.C. Bristol City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Bristol, England. The team compete in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded in 1894, the club competed in the Southern ...


Sport and recreation

Bedminster is home to many sports teams, including Broad Plain Rugby Club, who play in the Bristol Combination league, and Bedminster Cricket Club, which was founded in 1847 and has historical links with W. G. Grace, who play in the West of England Premier League. Broad Plain RFC are based at Bristol South End, off St Johns Lane, which was the home of Bristol City Football Club before they moved to Ashton Gate, and later the sports and social club associated with E. S. & A. Robinson. Bedminster is home to one of Bristol's two city farms, below Windmill Hill, and also the national headquarters for the Federation of City Farms. Opposite the city farm is Bristol's
Hackspace A hackerspace (also referred to as a hacklab, hackspace, or makerspace) is a community-operated, often "not for profit" (501(c)(3) in the United States), workspace where people with common interests, such as computers, machining, technology, sci ...
, a shared workshop for electronics and robotics hobbyists. A
greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around an oval track. The sport originates from Hare coursing, coursing. Track racing uses an artificial lure (usually a form of windsock) that travels ahead of th ...
track called the Magnet Racecourse was opened on 9 June 1928, on South Liberty Lane, Long Ashton. The racing was independent (not affiliated to the sports governing body the
National Greyhound Racing Club The National Greyhound Racing Club was an organisation that governed Greyhound racing in the United Kingdom Greyhound racing is a sport in the United Kingdom. The industry uses a parimutuel betting tote system with on-course and off-course be ...
) known as a flapping track, which was the nickname given to independent tracks. The NGRC refused to license the Magnet Greyhound Racing Company because the district already had licensed tracks at Eastville Stadium and Knowle Stadium. Racing was held as many as five times per week on what was described as a horse-shoe shape with the main distance being 475 yards. The track closed on 26 August 1932.


Council ward

The Bedminster council ward does not include the northern part of Bedminster, which is in Southville ward. Nor does it include the area east of the railway line, which is in Windmill Hill ward. Bedminster Down is in
Bishopsworth Bishopsworth is a suburban neighbourhood and wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of the city of Bristol. It is located in the south of the city and has a high proportion of council housing. Local facilities include shops and pubs, a pu ...
ward. Bedminster ward does include the district of Ashton Vale, to the south of Bedminster.


Ashton Vale

Ashton Vale includes an area of housing centred on Ashton Drive and South Liberty Lane, served by Ashton Vale Primary School. The northern part of Ashton Vale, adjacent to the Portishead Railway line, is mixed light industrial and retail outlets.


Politics

The Bedminster council ward elects two members of
Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority for the city of Bristol, in South West England. Bristol has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority, being ...
. Ellie Freeman (
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...
) and Emily Jade Clarke ( Labour Party) are the current ward councillors. Bedminster is part of the Bristol South constituency, whose MP is Karin Smyth of the Labour Party since 2015.


Notable people

*
Alfred Dancey Alfred Dancey was convicted of the murder of nineteen year old William Braund on Bedminster Bridge, Bristol in 1849. At the time of the murder William was working for a local wine merchant. Alfred was also working - the newspapers say he was an err ...
, murderer at the age of fourteen, transported to Australia *
Princess Caraboo Mary Baker (née Willcocks; 11 November 1792 (alleged), Witheridge, Devonshire, England – 24 December 1864, Bristol, England) was an English impostor. Posing as the fictional Princess Caraboo, Baker pretended to come from a far-off island kin ...
, impostor, lived as a widow in Bedminster. She died on 24 December 1864 and was buried in the Hebron Road. * Florence Mary Taylor, pioneering Australian architect and aviator, born in Bedminster in 1879. * Jayde Adams, British comedian, actress, writer and singer, was born in Bedminster in 1984. * John James was born at 96 Philip Street, Bedminster in 1906. https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/libraries-and-archives/list-of-blue-plaques-in-bristol


Notes


References


External links


Ashton Vale Community Site
*

{{Districts of Bristol Areas of Bristol Places formerly in Somerset Wards of Bristol Former civil parishes in Bristol