Bitterne is an eastern suburb and Electoral Ward

Wards of the United Kingdom

A ward in the United Kingdom is an electoral district at sub-national level represented by one or more councillors. It is the primary unit of British administrative and electoral geography .-England:...

 of Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

, 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...

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Bitterne derives its name not from the similarly named bird, the Bittern

Bittern

Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family, Ardeidae, a family of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family...

 (as some believe) but from the bend in the River Itchen

River Itchen, Hampshire

The River Itchen is a river in Hampshire, England. It flows from mid-Hampshire to join with Southampton Water below the Itchen Bridge in the city of Southampton. The river has a total length of , and is noted as one of England's - if not one of the World's - premier chalk streams for fly fishing,...

; the Old English words byht and ærn together mean "house near a bend", most likely a reference to Bitterne Manor

Bitterne Manor

Bitterne Manor is a suburb of Southampton surrounding the manor house of the same name.- History :Bitterne Manor is the site of the original Roman settlement of Clausentum, the forerunner to today's City of Southampton....

 House. A reference from the late 11th century spells the name Byterne.

Bitterne Ward comprises the suburbs of Bitterne and Thornhill

Thornhill, Hampshire

-About Thornhill:Thornhill is a suburb of Southampton, United Kingdom. Situated on the Eastern border of the City and bounded by three major roads; the area is effectively an island. According to the the population was 11,460...

, and had a population of 14,384 as of the 2001 Census

United Kingdom Census 2001

A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

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