Downend & Staple Hill BS16

Downend and Bromley Heath is a civil parish and suburb of Bristol in South Gloucestershire, England.

It is located to the North East of Bristol and bordered by the Bristol City suburb of Fishponds to its south west and the South Gloucestershire suburbs of Staple Hill to the south, Frenchay to the west and Emersons Green to the East.

The outward expansion of Downend dating from the 1980s has been contained by the presence of the M4 motorway which swings around the northern side of Bristol. Downend has little industry within its boundaries, consisting mainly of domestic housing and local shopping facilities.

A welcome development since 2003 is the opening of several premises as independently owned restaurants, allowing residents to eat out locally and a designer clothes store.

Downend has its fair share of parks including The King George V Playing Fields, and there is also a local cricket club located in the centre of Downend. Secondary and primary schools based in Downend include Downend School (a comprehensive), Bromley Heath Junior and Infant schools and Christ Church Primary and Junior schools.

There are a few local churches although the closest are Downend Baptist Church on Salisbury Road and the Christ Church on Downend Road. Badminton Road Methodist Church, between Downend and the Avon Ring Road, serves the newer housing alongside Badminton Road and in the Bromley Heath area.

Downend's greatest claim to fame is that the cricketer W. G. Grace was born in the village, and played cricket at Downend Cricket Club. Sarah Dallin and Keren Woodward, members of the band Bananarama, also grew up in Downend. The rock band New Rhodes also lived in Downend for a short time. Big Brother contestant Emily Parr who was evicted for a racial slur was brought up and lives in Downend.

The woods near Downend were the site of an air crash on 6 November 1957, when a prototype Bristol Britannia aircraft crashed killing the 15 man crew.

Staple Hill is often considered to be a suburb of Bristol, but is actually located in South Gloucestershire, England. It is situated to the north-east of Bristol near Fishponds and Downend.

The strange name Staple Hill may derive from the old English word steap meaning steep, but it is more likely to have described a long-lost pillar, post or standing stone – known as stay pole, shortened to stapol or staple.

Staple Hill lies on the path of the old Midland Railway line, one of the original reasons for its growth. Today Staple Hill has a thriving high street, and an attractive park in Page Park.

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items are from between 18 Nov 2007 & 15 Nov 2009.