Bower Ashton
Encyclopedia
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
on the western boundary with North Somerset
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare....
, lying within the Southville
Southville, Bristol
Southville is an inner city ward of Bristol, England, situated on the south bank of the River Avon and northwest of Bedminster. Most of the area's houses were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries either for workers in the Bristol coal mining industry or the tobacco factories of W. D. &...
ward, approximately two miles from the city centre. Ashton Court
Ashton Court
Ashton Court is a mansion house and estate to the west of Bristol in England. Although the estate lies mainly in North Somerset, it is owned by the City of Bristol. The estate has been a venue for a variety of leisure activities, including the now-defunct Ashton Court festival, Bristol...
estate, a 850 acres (3.4 km²) recreational area owned by Bristol City Council lies just to the north, the Long Ashton by-pass (Brunel Way, the A370) to the south and the River Avon to the east.
The area is now mainly residential but also includes the School of Creative Arts of the University of the West of England
University of the West of England
The University of the West of England is a university based in the English city of Bristol. Its main campus is at Frenchay, about five miles north of the city centre...
, Ashton Park Secondary School
Ashton Park Secondary School
Ashton Park School is a comprehensive school in Bristol, England, for 11 to 16 year olds. Students come from primary schools including Ashton Gate, Hotwells, Southville, Compass Point, and Luckwell....
, which is a specialist Sports College
Sports College
Sports Colleges were introduced in 1997 as part of the Specialist Schools Programme in the United Kingdom. The system enables secondary schools to specialise in certain fields, in this case, PE, sports and dance. Schools that successfully apply to the Specialist Schools Trust and become Sports...
and the Horse and Dog section of Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Avon & Somerset Constabulary is the territorial police force in England responsible for policing the non-metropolitan county of Somerset, the city & county of Bristol and the unitary authorities of South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset; before 1996 these districts...
as well as about 180 allotments in 5 different areas. Clifton Bridge
Clifton Bridge railway station
Clifton Bridge railway station was a railway station in Bristol, England, on the Portishead Railway. Closed in 1964....
and Ashton Gate
Ashton Gate railway station
Ashton Gate railway station was a railway station serving an area of Bristol, England, which included Ashton Gate football ground, the home ground of Bristol City F.C.. It was located on the Portishead Railway.-History:...
railway stations are both now closed, but there is some pressure to reopen the latter as part of a rapid transit link from Portishead
Portishead, Somerset
Portishead is a coastal town on the Severn Estuary within the unitary authority of North Somerset, which falls within the ceremonial county of Somerset England. It has a population of 22,000, an increase of over 3,000 since the 2001 census, with a growth rate of 40 per cent, considerably in excess...
.
History
In medieval times the area was owned by St Augustine's Abbey, but following the DissolutionDissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
the Smyth estate was established by John Smyth, a merchant from Small Street in the city, in the 16th century. In the 19th century Sir John Henry Greville Smyth rebuilt Ashton Court Mansion along with a now demolished Dower house
Dower house
On an estate, a dower house is usually a moderately large house available for use by the widow of the estate-owner. The widow, often known as the "dowager" usually moves into the dower house from the larger family house on the death of her husband if the heir is married, and upon his marriage if he...
on the present site of the School of Creative Arts. Maps of that era show a rope walk, Frayne's Colliery and Ashton Vale Iron works, scene of many tragic accidents, adjacent to the Portishead railway line. It appears from Bristol City Council documents that an Iron Foundry was in operation in the area until the 1940s.
From ancient times the Rownham Ferry linked Bower Ashton with Hotwells
Hotwells
Hotwells is a district of the English port city of Bristol. It is located to the south of and below the high ground of Clifton, and directly to the north of the Floating Harbour. The southern entrance to the Avon Gorge, which connects those docks to the sea, lies at the western end of Hotwells. The...
. It medieval times it was owned by the monks of St Augustine's Abbey and brought them considerable income. There was also a ford downstream but due to the great tidal range this was dangerous. The ferry remained in operation until it closed in the 1930s, after the opening of the Ashton Swing Bridge at Ashton Gate
Ashton Gate
Ashton Gate Stadium is a stadium in Ashton Gate, Bristol, England, and is the home of Bristol City F.C. Located in the south-west of the city, just south of the River Avon, it has an all-seated capacity of 21,497, with an effective capacity for football matches of around 19,500, with an average...
. Legend has it that King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
crossed the Avon from Hotwells via the ferry on his way to Leigh Court
Leigh Court
Leigh Court is a country house which is a Grade II* listed building in Abbots Leigh, Somerset, England.The manor of Leigh at the time of the Norman Conquest belonged to the lordship of Bedminster but William the Conqueror awarded it to the Bishop of Coutances...
in 1651.
Attractions
Bower Ashton is also the location of the playing grounds of Bedminster Cricket Club (founded in 1847, for whom W.G. Grace played) and has a small part of the River Avon Trail (the old Tow Path) running along the River Avon in Greville Smyth Park, which was developed from land given to the city by Sir Greville Smyth. The park walk gives a classic view of the full span of Isambard Kingdom BrunelIsambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
's Clifton Suspension Bridge
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Brunel died in 1859, without seeing the completion of the bridge. Brunel's colleagues in the Institution of Civil Engineers felt that completion of the Bridge would be a fitting memorial, and started to raise new funds...
across the Avon Gorge
Avon Gorge
The Avon Gorge is a 1.5-mile long gorge on the River Avon in Bristol, England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge west of Bristol city centre, and about 3 miles from the mouth of the river at Avonmouth. The gorge forms the boundary between the unitary authorities of...
between Leigh Woods
Leigh Woods
Leigh Woods is a 2 square kilometre area of woodland on the south-west side of the Avon Gorge, opposite the English city of Bristol and north of the Ashton Court estate. It has been designated as a National Nature Reserve. Small mountain biking circuits are present in the woods and the area is a...
in North Somerset
North Somerset
North Somerset is a unitary authority in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare....
and Clifton
Clifton, Bristol
Clifton is a suburb of the City of Bristol in England, and the name of both one of the city's thirty-five council wards. The Clifton ward also includes the areas of Cliftonwood and Hotwells...
in Bristol.
Across the River Avon are the lock gate entrances to Bristol Docks and the 'Floating Harbour' (completed in 1809) in Hotwells
Hotwells
Hotwells is a district of the English port city of Bristol. It is located to the south of and below the high ground of Clifton, and directly to the north of the Floating Harbour. The southern entrance to the Avon Gorge, which connects those docks to the sea, lies at the western end of Hotwells. The...
and the large Samuel Plimsoll
Samuel Plimsoll
Samuel Plimsoll was a British politician and social reformer, now best remembered for having devised the Plimsoll line .-Early life:Plimsoll was born in Bristol and soon moved to Whiteley Wood...
Swing Bridge. Within easy walking distance too are: Ashton Court Estate, (where Bristol’s famous outdoor festivals take place) and Ashton Gate stadium (home of Bristol City FC).