Staple Hill is a suburb 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, 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, Kingswood, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke. The southern p ...

, in the ceremonial county of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. It is directly east of

Fishponds Fishponds is a suburb in the north-east of the English city of Bristol, about from Bristol city centre, the city centre. It is mainly residential, and housing is typically terraced Victorian. It has a small student population from the presence ...

, south of Downend, west of

Mangotsfield Mangotsfield is a village and former civil parish 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 in rail transport, 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 ...

opened Staple Hill railway station, giving direct access to Bristol and Gloucester, and also to Bath by the Mangotsfield and Bath branch line. 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)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, 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 have been converted to the Bristol & Bath Railway

cycle route Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in ...

, 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 ...

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 in the county of Avon when it became part of South Gloucestershire, between 1974 and 2023 it was in

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 unparis ...

, on 1 April 2023 it became part of Staple Hill and Mangotsfield

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 ...

. 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, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

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

References

{{South Gloucestershire Areas of Bristol South Gloucestershire District