Combe Dingle
Encyclopedia
Coombe Dingle is a suburb of Bristol
, England
, centred near where the Hazel Brook tributary of the River Trym
emerges from a limestone gorge bisecting the Blaise Castle
Estate to join the main course of the Trym. Historically this area formed part of the parish of Westbury on Trym, Gloucestershire
, and is now part of Kingsweston
ward of the city of Bristol. South of Coombe Dingle is Sea Mills
; to the north is Kingsweston Hill; to the west are Kings Weston House
and Shirehampton
Park; and to the east, Henbury Golf Club and Westbury on Trym proper.
The inhabited place appears simply as Combe, Coomb or Coombe, meaning 'short bowl-shaped valley', in documents from the 13th century onwards and on early maps. The name applied to Coombe Farm and Coombe House on the eastern side of the confluence of the Hazel Brook and the Trym, not where the modern suburb lies. This area later became noted for its cherry orchards, commemorated in a modern house-name, and a nursery. Strictly speaking, Coombe Dingle was the wooded narrow valley through which the Trym passes south-west of the farm and house to flow southwards through Sea Mills to the River Avon
. The name of the narrow valley was borrowed for the new development consisting mostly of private housing built to the west of the Trym in the 1920s and 1930s on an area called Boulton's (or Bowden's) Fields. It was and remains a desirable area to live. Near the western edge is Haig Close, a small development of houses originally built for ex-servicemen in 1929 on land donated from the Kingsweston Estate by Philip Napier Miles
, though this is generally said to be in Sea Mills.
Coombe Dingle was once a popular destination for outings from Bristol, and there was a well-known tea-room in the wooded Dingle itself, now a private house. The original winding road passing it, also called The Dingle, has been bypassed by the modern A4162 which is carried across the river on a discreet bridge with a classical-style balustrade. In the Dingle itself, the river drove a flour mill called Coombe Mill.
There is a parade of shops and a pub (The Iron Bridge, formerly The Progress) on Westbury Lane. There used to be, close to the road bridge and near the northern end of Coombe Lane, a "tin" (i.e. corrugated iron) Methodist chapel. It was a small building with plain Gothic-style windows dating from the 1890s, demolished in the mid-1990s and replaced by a house. There are no other places of worship in Coombe Dingle.
Coombe Lane is the home of Bristol University sports complex, which is commonly referred to as Coombe Dingle, though that is not helpful as it is really in Stoke Bishop.
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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, centred near where the Hazel Brook tributary of the River Trym
River Trym
The River Trym is a short river, some in length, which rises in Filton, South Gloucestershire, England. The upper reaches are culverted, some underground, through mostly urban landscapes, but once it emerges into the open it flows through a nature reserve and city parks before joining the tidal...
emerges from a limestone gorge bisecting the Blaise Castle
Blaise Castle
Blaise Castle is an 18th century mansion house and estate near Henbury in Bristol , England. Blaise Castle was immortalised by being described as "the finest place in England" in Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey....
Estate to join the main course of the Trym. Historically this area formed part of the parish of Westbury on Trym, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, and is now part of Kingsweston
Kingsweston
Kingsweston is a ward of the city of Bristol. The three districts in the ward are Coombe Dingle, Lawrence Weston and Sea Mills. The ward takes its name from the old district of Kings Weston , now generally considered part of Lawrence Weston.-Coombe Dingle:Coombe Dingle is a suburb of Bristol,...
ward of the city of Bristol. South of Coombe Dingle is Sea Mills
Sea Mills, Bristol
Sea Mills is a suburb of the English port city of Bristol. It is situated some 3.5 miles north-west of the city centre, towards the seaward end of the Avon Gorge. Nearby suburbs are Shirehampton, Sneyd Park, Combe Dingle and Stoke Bishop...
; to the north is Kingsweston Hill; to the west are Kings Weston House
Kings Weston House
Kings Weston House is a historic building in Kings Weston Lane, Kingsweston, Bristol, England.It was built between 1710 and 1725 was designed by Sir John Vanbrugh for Edward Southwell on the site of an earlier Tudor house, and remodelled 1763 by Robert Mylne. A significant architectural feature is...
and Shirehampton
Shirehampton
Shirehampton, near Avonmouth, at the north-western edge of the city of Bristol, England, is a district of Bristol which originated as a separate village. It retains something of its village feel, having a short identifiable High Street with the parish church situated among shops, and is still...
Park; and to the east, Henbury Golf Club and Westbury on Trym proper.
The inhabited place appears simply as Combe, Coomb or Coombe, meaning 'short bowl-shaped valley', in documents from the 13th century onwards and on early maps. The name applied to Coombe Farm and Coombe House on the eastern side of the confluence of the Hazel Brook and the Trym, not where the modern suburb lies. This area later became noted for its cherry orchards, commemorated in a modern house-name, and a nursery. Strictly speaking, Coombe Dingle was the wooded narrow valley through which the Trym passes south-west of the farm and house to flow southwards through Sea Mills to the River Avon
River Avon, Bristol
The River Avon is an English river in the south west of the country. To distinguish it from a number of other River Avons in Britain, this river is often also known as the Lower Avon or Bristol Avon...
. The name of the narrow valley was borrowed for the new development consisting mostly of private housing built to the west of the Trym in the 1920s and 1930s on an area called Boulton's (or Bowden's) Fields. It was and remains a desirable area to live. Near the western edge is Haig Close, a small development of houses originally built for ex-servicemen in 1929 on land donated from the Kingsweston Estate by Philip Napier Miles
Philip Napier Miles
Philip Napier Miles JP DLitt h.c. was a prominent and wealthy citizen of Bristol, UK, who left his mark on the city, especially on what are now its western suburbs, through his musical and organizational abilities and through good works of various kinds...
, though this is generally said to be in Sea Mills.
Coombe Dingle was once a popular destination for outings from Bristol, and there was a well-known tea-room in the wooded Dingle itself, now a private house. The original winding road passing it, also called The Dingle, has been bypassed by the modern A4162 which is carried across the river on a discreet bridge with a classical-style balustrade. In the Dingle itself, the river drove a flour mill called Coombe Mill.
There is a parade of shops and a pub (The Iron Bridge, formerly The Progress) on Westbury Lane. There used to be, close to the road bridge and near the northern end of Coombe Lane, a "tin" (i.e. corrugated iron) Methodist chapel. It was a small building with plain Gothic-style windows dating from the 1890s, demolished in the mid-1990s and replaced by a house. There are no other places of worship in Coombe Dingle.
Coombe Lane is the home of Bristol University sports complex, which is commonly referred to as Coombe Dingle, though that is not helpful as it is really in Stoke Bishop.