Eastville is an
inner suburb
An inner suburb is a suburban community central to a large city, or at the inner city and central business district. The urban density is usually lower than the inner city or central business district, but higher than that of the city's rural� ...
an neighbourhood and an
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...
in
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, located around northeast of
The Centre. It is roughly centred on Muller Road between its junctions with Stapleton Road and Fishponds Road.
Eastville is known for
Eastville Park
Eastville Park is an urban park in Eastville, Bristol, England. The grounds that became the park were purchased from Greville Smyth of Ashton Court and the boundary walls are listed with Historic England. The facilities include a lake and tennis ...
, a large park with a small lake, just to the east of the M32.
The lake at Eastville Park was constructed as an unemployment relief scheme following a campaign by
Ernest Bevin
Ernest Bevin (9 March 1881 – 14 April 1951) was a British statesman, trade union leader and Labour Party politician. He co-founded and served as General Secretary of the powerful Transport and General Workers' Union from 1922 to 1940 and ...
.
The
River Frome flows roughly south-southwest through the neighbourhood, and has been closely shadowed by the
M32 motorway
The M32 is a motorway in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, England. It provides a link from the M4, a major motorway linking London and South Wales, to Bristol city centre and is maintained by National Highways, the national roads body.
Th ...
since its construction in the early 1970s. The motorway crosses the neighbourhood on an elevated flyover over its junction with Muller Road, creating community severance.
On the west bank of the Frome is Eastgate shopping centre, home to a large
IKEA
IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services.
IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...
and
Tesco
Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
. The site was formerly
Eastville Stadium
Eastville Stadium, also known as Bristol Stadium and Bristol Stadium – Eastville, was a stadium in Eastville, a northern suburb of the English city of Bristol.
Constructed in 1897, it was the home of Bristol Rovers F.C., the Bristol Bulld ...
, once home of
Bristol Rovers Football Club, as well as being a site for
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 ...
and
speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Daytona International Speedway, a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida.
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta.
*Indianapolis Motor Spe ...
.
Location and boundaries
As an informally defined neighbourhood, originating as a hamlet within the parish of
Stapleton, Eastville long existed without official boundaries, and the area that has been formally defined for the electoral ward includes neighbourhoods in the north and east of the ward that might not traditionally have been thought of as part of Eastville, while omitting the western part of the area that is commonly thought of Eastville.
The
M32 motorway
The M32 is a motorway in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, England. It provides a link from the M4, a major motorway linking London and South Wales, to Bristol city centre and is maintained by National Highways, the national roads body.
Th ...
is the western boundary of the Eastville electoral ward, meaning that areas to the west that might traditionally have been considered in Eastville, including Glenfrome Road and the Old Eastville Library on Muller Road, are in
Lockleaze
Lockleaze is an area and council ward in the northern suburbs of the city of Bristol, England, north of the city centre, south of Filton, east of Horfield and west of Frenchay.
Lockleaze is a residential area of social housing built on the wes ...
electoral ward rather than Eastville electoral ward.
History
A large railway viaduct known as 'The Thirteen Arches' for obvious reasons, once ran through the area, roughly parallel to the current Muller Road; it was demolished in 1968. This was part of the
Clifton Extension Railway.
The
Eastville Workhouse, originally the Barton Regis Union Workhouse,
was a former French Prison which was bought from the Government circa 1832.
In 1930, the Stapleton Workhouse, originally the Bristol Union Workhouse,
[ became the Stapleton Institution and by the Second World War the site was mainly used for the care of the mentally ill and the elderly; eventually becoming ]Blackberry Hill Hospital
Blackberry Hill Hospital is an NHS psychiatric hospital in Fishponds, Bristol, England, specialising in forensic mental health services, operated by the Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. The hospital also offers drug and al ...
.
Electoral ward
Eastville electoral ward includes Crofts End (also known as Clay Hill), in the east of the ward, and Stapleton, in the north. Notable places within the ward include Bristol Metropolitan Academy and Collegiate School, and the Bristol and Bath Railway Path
The Bristol and Bath Railway Path is a off-road cycleway, part of National Cycle Network NCR 4, National Cycle Route 4. It has a wide tarmacked surface, and was used for 2.4 million trips in 2007, increasing by 10% per year.
It was built by ...
also passes through the ward.
The ward is represented by 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 ...
, which are Lorraine Francis and Ed Fraser of the Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW; ), often known simply as the Green Party or the Greens, is a Green politics, green, Left-wing politics, left-wing political party in England and Wales. Since October 2021, Carla Denyer and Adrian Ram ...
.
Eastville ward was created in 1974,[The County of Avon (District Wards) Order 1973] electing three members to Bristol City Council and one member to Avon County Council
Avon County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Avon in south west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 1 April 1996 at the same time as the county. The county council was based at A ...
.[ Boundaries were redrawn and the city council size adjusted in 198-, after which Eastville ward elected two members to the city council and one to the county council, until the abolition of the ]county of Avon
Avon ( ) was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in the west of England that existed between 1974 and 1996. The county was named after the River Avon, which flows through the area. It was formed from the county boroughs of Bristol and ...
in 1996. Boundaries were further adjusted in 1999, when parts of Greenbank that had been in Eastville ward transferred to Easton ward, and again in 2016, when Eastville gained parts of Whitefield Road from Hillfields
Hillfields is a suburb of Coventry in the West Midlands of England. It is situated north of Coventry city centre, and has undergone a series of name changes throughout its history originally called "Harnall" and has seen itself change from a ...
ward, and lost parts of Broom Hill to Frome Vale
Frome Vale is an wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward in Bristol, England, lying northeast of the city centre. It is represented by two members on Bristol City Council, which are Louis Martin and Yassin Al Maghrabi of the Labour Party ( ...
ward.
Residents
* Andrew Beer
William Andrew Beer (1862–1954) was an English artist, known for painting racing pigeons, in oil on canvas, under the working name of Andrew Beer. A racing pigeon enthusiast himself, he was a judge at competitive pigeon shows.
Beer had a stu ...
(1862–1954), artist and racing pigeon expert
* Paul Potts
Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is a British tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of " Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic pop music, P ...
, tenor, councillor for the ward from 1996 until 2003
References
{{Districts of Bristol
Areas of Bristol
Wards of Bristol
Places formerly in Gloucestershire