Sneyd Park is a suburb of Bristol

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, lying on the western fringe of Clifton Down

Clifton Down

Clifton Down is an area of public open space in Bristol, England, north of the village of Clifton. With its neighbour Durdham Down to the northeast, it constitutes the large area known as The Downs, much used for leisure including walking and team sports...

, adjacent to 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...

 and the Sea Walls observation point. Home to many millionaires, Sneyd Park was originally developed in Victorian

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 times. Many Victorian

Victorian architecture

The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...

 and Edwardian villas line the edge of the Downs. More modern housing has since been built down over the slope, towards Sea Mills, Bristol

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...

.

Clifton Down, in the vicinity of Sea Walls, was the location of the flight, on 12 November 1910, of the first aircraft built by the Bristol and Colonial Aeroplane Company

Bristol Aeroplane Company

The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...

. Many thousands of Bristol's citizens flocked to see two well-known French pilots, Maurice Tétard and Henri Jullerot, give a public demonstration of the new Bristol Boxkite

Bristol Boxkite

-Military operators:* Australian Flying Corps** Central Flying School AFC at Point Cook, Victoria.* Union Defence Forces - South African Air Force Kingdom of Spain* Royal Flying Corps* Royal Naval Air Service** No. 3 Squadron RFC-References:...

. Blériot

Louis Blériot

Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...

's famous flight across the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...

had occurred only the year before.

External links

• Map of Sneyd Park circa 1900