Mayfield Park, Bristol
Encyclopedia
Mayfield Park is a residential area in East Bristol
, with a large adjoining park known as the Ridgeway Rd Playing Fields.
The area is located on the outskirts of the outer urban area of Fishponds
and consists mainly of three roads: Mayfield Park, Mayfield Park North and Mayfield Park South. It is also near the main road of Berkeley Road and the outer urban area with the name of Speedwell
, and adjacent to Chester Park
. The area consists mainly of families with children and elderly people, and has a population of 1,630 (est).
of Kingswood, the area around Mayfield Park started to be cleared for agriculture from the 13th century. By 1839, the area was part of the Parish
of Stapleton
and was known as the 'Crooked Lane Inclosures' where the park is today and the 'Reeves Ground' where the houses were later built. In the 1880s, the Provincial Land Company let land in allotments for building purposes, and a large number of semi-detached villas and other houses were built and the area became known as Mayfield Park.
Until the Hillfields Housing estate
was built in the 1920s, Mayfield Park encompased an area which extended across Lodge Causeway
to the north-east. In 1934 a Roman
coin dating from the time of Vespasian
, Roman Emperor between 69-79 AD, was found in a neighbours garden in Mayfield Park South, but no other Roman evidence has been found.
Ridgeway Rd Playing Fields is a large park, extending about 850 yards in length and 250 yards across, with access to the Bristol to Bath Cycle Path at the western end. At the centre of the park are the pitches of Whitehall
Rugby
Football Club, founded in 1931, with a clubhouse on Foundry Lane. At the eastern end of the park in the Harry Crook Youth
Activities Centre with basketball
hoops and a small children's playground.
Coombe Brook Valley Nature Park extends for about 450 yards to the south east towards Chester Park, known locally as the 'Gosey' as it lies within the medieval Gosthills Gully. Managed by Avon Wildlife Trust
, the 1.6 hectare valley is a haven for wildlife including hazel
, oak
and sycamore
trees, and mature scrub of hawthorn and elder
. It provides habitat for birds such as the wren
, greenfinch
and spotted flycatcher
, and butterflies including small tortoiseshell, peacock and speckled wood.
A number of churches serve the area including St John
's Church of England
Church, built in 1911, and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, built in 1925, both on Lodge Causeway
. Near the park is the more modern Abingdon Road Gospel Hall, a Evangelical Church of the Noncomformist Christian Brethren built in 1937, with a large church hall
backing onto the playing fields. The Morley Congregational Church
originally built between Ivy Lane and Mayfield Avenue in 1889 was demolished in 1970 after it encountered structural problems, and now sites a block of modern flats.
There are three schools near the Mayfield park area: the primary schools of Chester Park School, St Josephs School and Bristol Brunel Academy
.
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...
, with a large adjoining park known as the Ridgeway Rd Playing Fields.
The area is located on the outskirts of the outer urban area of Fishponds
Fishponds, Bristol
Fishponds is an outer urban area in the north-east of the English city of Bristol. It is approximately from the City centre. It has two large Victorian era parks; Eastville Park and Vassell's Park and also known locally as Oldbury Court. The River Frome runs through both parks, with the Frome...
and consists mainly of three roads: Mayfield Park, Mayfield Park North and Mayfield Park South. It is also near the main road of Berkeley Road and the outer urban area with the name of Speedwell
Speedwell, Bristol
Speedwell is an area of east Bristol, Part of the ward. It has a mixture of residential and industrial land.The shows a population of 1,515....
, and adjacent to Chester Park
Chester Park, Bristol
Chester Park is a residential area in Bristol, England, with an adjacent park commonly known as Barton Fields.It is on the outskirts of the outer urban area of Fishponds, adjacent to Mayfield Park, Speedwell, Kingswood, Hillfields and Lodge Causeway...
. The area consists mainly of families with children and elderly people, and has a population of 1,630 (est).
History of the area
Originally part of the Royal ForestRoyal forest
A royal forest is an area of land with different meanings in England, Wales and Scotland; the term forest does not mean forest as it is understood today, as an area of densely wooded land...
of Kingswood, the area around Mayfield Park started to be cleared for agriculture from the 13th century. By 1839, the area was part of the Parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Stapleton
Stapleton, Bristol
Stapleton is an area in the north-eastern suburbs of the city of Bristol, England. The name is colloquially used today to describe the ribbon village along Bell Hill and Park Road in the Frome Valley. It borders Eastville to the South and Begbrook and Frenchay to the North...
and was known as the 'Crooked Lane Inclosures' where the park is today and the 'Reeves Ground' where the houses were later built. In the 1880s, the Provincial Land Company let land in allotments for building purposes, and a large number of semi-detached villas and other houses were built and the area became known as Mayfield Park.
Until the Hillfields Housing estate
Housing estate
A housing estate is a group of buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Accordingly, a housing estate is usually built by a single contractor, with only a few styles of house or building design, so they tend to be uniform in appearance...
was built in the 1920s, Mayfield Park encompased an area which extended across Lodge Causeway
Lodge Causeway
Lodge Causeway is an ancient passage through the former Royal Forest of Kingswood and now the main road between Fishponds and Kingswood in Bristol, England...
to the north-east. In 1934 a Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
coin dating from the time of Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
, Roman Emperor between 69-79 AD, was found in a neighbours garden in Mayfield Park South, but no other Roman evidence has been found.
The playing fields and nature park
Whitehall, Bristol
Whitehall, is a district on the edge of inner Bristol city in England.-Parks:The local green space is Whitehall Playing Fields or Packer's Ground as it was known, taking its name from the local chocolate factory - Packers. As of 2006 this company is known as Famous Names and has just announced its...
Rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
Football Club, founded in 1931, with a clubhouse on Foundry Lane. At the eastern end of the park in the Harry Crook Youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
Activities Centre with basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
hoops and a small children's playground.
Coombe Brook Valley Nature Park extends for about 450 yards to the south east towards Chester Park, known locally as the 'Gosey' as it lies within the medieval Gosthills Gully. Managed by Avon Wildlife Trust
Avon Wildlife Trust
The Avon Wildlife Trust aims to protect and promote wildlife in the area of the former county of Avon — now Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, in England...
, the 1.6 hectare valley is a haven for wildlife including hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
and sycamore
Sycamore Maple
Acer pseudoplatanus, the sycamore maple, is a species of maple native to central Europe and southwestern Asia, from France east to Ukraine, and south in mountains to northern Spain, northern Turkey, and the Caucasus. It is not related to other trees called sycamore or plane tree in the Platanus...
trees, and mature scrub of hawthorn and elder
Sambucus nigra
Sambucus nigra is a species complex of elder native to most of Europe.It is most commonly called Elder, Elderberry, Black Elder, European Elder, European Elderberry, European Black Elderberry, Common Elder, or Elder Bush when distinction from other species of Sambucus is needed...
. It provides habitat for birds such as the wren
Wren
The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....
, greenfinch
European Greenfinch
The European Greenfinch, or just Greenfinch, Carduelis chloris, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. The genus Carduelis might be split up and in this case, the greenfinches would be separated in their old genus Chloris again.This bird is widespread throughout Europe, north...
and spotted flycatcher
Spotted Flycatcher
The Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa striata, is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and western Asia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range....
, and butterflies including small tortoiseshell, peacock and speckled wood.
Churches and facilities
John of Patmos
John of Patmos is the name given, in the Book of Revelation, as the author of the apocalyptic text that is traditionally cannonized in the New Testament...
's Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Church, built in 1911, and St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, built in 1925, both on Lodge Causeway
Lodge Causeway
Lodge Causeway is an ancient passage through the former Royal Forest of Kingswood and now the main road between Fishponds and Kingswood in Bristol, England...
. Near the park is the more modern Abingdon Road Gospel Hall, a Evangelical Church of the Noncomformist Christian Brethren built in 1937, with a large church hall
Church hall
A church hall is a room or building associated with a church, general for community and charitable use . It is normally located near the church, typically in smaller and village communities. Activities in the hall are not necessarily religious, but are typically an important part of local community...
backing onto the playing fields. The Morley Congregational Church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
originally built between Ivy Lane and Mayfield Avenue in 1889 was demolished in 1970 after it encountered structural problems, and now sites a block of modern flats.
There are three schools near the Mayfield park area: the primary schools of Chester Park School, St Josephs School and Bristol Brunel Academy
Bristol Brunel Academy
Bristol Brunel Academy is a school located in the Speedwell area of Bristol and named after Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It specialises in Communication.-History:...
.