Stapleton, Bristol
Encyclopedia
Stapleton is an area in the north-eastern suburb
s 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. It comprises an eclectic mix of housing mainly from the Victorian
, Edwardian, inter-war and late twentieth century periods.
It is a popular residential area on three counts. It is convenient for the M32 motorway (with rapid access the M4
and M5
), it is a semi rural area within two miles of central Bristol
and it boasts a popular public school.
The ancient parish
of Stapleton covered Fishponds and Eastville
and was originally within Kingswood
Forest. The Saxon
hamlet
of Stapleton, first documented in 1208, stood at the edge of the forest, just north of the River Frome
. Finds of Roman
coin
s point to even earlier habitation. Even in the 18th century it was still heavily wooded.
The hamlet was donated to Tewkesbury Abbey
in 1174 by William, Earl of Gloucester
. By the late 16th century it was the property of the Berkeley family of Stoke Gifford
, and was passed down to the Duke of Beaufort
who retained the estate until the early 20th century, selling it in 1917.
Stapleton's church is a prominent Bristol landmark, visible from the M32 motorway
as motorists exit the city.
was mined in the area, there being some 70 pits by 1700, and vast numbers of local men were employed throughout the 18th century. In the 1890s the mines produced a thousand tons per day.
Stapleton was inclosed in 1781, Stapleton Common being sold as 9 lots, mostly to the Duke of Beaufort.
, the mother of Anthony Trollope
was born in the village in 1780, and Sarah Young, the mother of Thomas Chatterton
was also born there. The India
n social reformer Ram Mohan Roy
died at Beech House, the home of Lant Carpenter
, nursed by his daughter Mary
in 1833. Roy had paid a brief visit to the House.
The village grew steadily; in the 1871 census
there were 6,960 inhabitants and by 1901 that had risen to 21,236.
club was formed, its most famous player being Dr. William Gilbert Grace
who played for Gloucestershire
and England
. At Purdown a football
team called the Black Arabs were to become Bristol Rovers. (Purdown is reputedly haunted by the ghost
of a Duchess of Beaufort who was struck by lightning
, though many believe she died in a tragic horse riding accident.)
were built through the area, meeting at Stapleton Road railway station
which was opened on 8 September 1863. Tram
ways were also built, horse
drawn at first, but then electric
- they reached Fishponds in 1897. The village of Stapleton lies along the B4058 road
but is now bypassed by the M32
motorway that runs to the West and North of the village. Junction 2 of this motorway is just south of the village and provides convenient access to the M4 and M5 motorways, respectively four and seven kilometres from the junction. This has helped provide rapid access to Cardiff
and Newport
in South Wales
, the M4 Corridor
towards London and the Birmingham
area.
There has been a Church on this site for at least 500 years.The original dedication was to St. Giles, but between 1691 and 1720 the old Church was demolished and a new one, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, erected in its place. In 1854 the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, Bishop Monk, whose official residence was what is now Colston’s School, offered to rebuild the Church at his own cost, desiring “my fellow parishioners to understand that my motives in this work are to remove the source of dispute and contention for pews, caused by the inadequate size of the Church, and to provide sittings for the poor as well as other classes of Parishioners”. The Chancel was rebuilt at the cost of the lay rector, Greville Smyth, and the new Church was dedicated on 15 April 1857. The Choir Vestry was added in 1892.
The Benefice
At first the Church was the responsibility of the Benedictine monks of the Priory of St. James, who appointed chaplains. The first Vicar was instituted in 1540, after the dissolution of the monasteries. In 1544 St. James’ Priory with all its assets, including the rectory and tithes of St. Giles’ Church, was sold to Henry Brayne, a merchant tailor of London. In 1626 the Heath House estate, with the rectory and tithes, was bought by Thomas Walter, from whom they descended to the Smyth family of Ashton Court, as described in the tablet over the North Door. The lay rectory and tithes were surrendered by Greville Smyth in 1857, when the Vicar became the Rector, but the right of presentation to the benefice was retained by the family until 1948, when it was transferred to the Bishop of Bristol.
The Church
The Church is a fine example of Victorian Gothic architecture in the Decorated style. It was built of Pennant stone quarried locally at Broom Hill and the stone for the dressings came from quarries near Bath.
Exterior
The Tower with its spire is a commanding feature rising to a height of 170 feet. Coupled buttresses at its angles rise boldly in five stages to the rich parapet and are capped with crocketted pinnacles. These flank the spire whose eight angles are ornamented with crockets carved in Bath stone bands, the general facing being of Pennant stone in courses. A large metal cross surmounts the finial of the spire.At the foot of the Tower is the elaborately carved West Doorway.
Interior
The springing of the arches, the roof-corbels and window heads are enriched by fine carvings of heads, angels with musical instruments, and foliage. The whole of the roof is of oak, that in the chancel being ribbed and carved.
Font
This dates from 1857 and is of alabaster set on marble pillars. The oak cover is a memorial to two members of the Hall family who fell in the First World War.
Pulpit
This seems to have been made for some other church where the steps would have wound round a pillar. The Caenstone body rests on serpentine shafts with foliated capitals. and three of the panels contain carved representations of preaching – Christ in the centre, and St Peter and St Paul on the left and right respectively.
Lectern
A fine brass eagle given in memory of Charles Castle, died 1886.
Choir Stalls
Notable for the finely carved foliage and figures of kneeling angels.
Reredos
This was given by the Revd. W. H. Shaw at the time of the Church’s jubilee in 1907. It shows Our Lord holding out His hands in invitation while angels stand or kneel on either side.
Organ
A two-manual instrument by Vowles of Bristol. Built in 1873, it now has electro-pneumatic action with 21 speaking stops.
Lady Chapel
The oak reredos and communion rail were given in memory of Lt. Fitzroy Charles Phillpotts, who fell at Gallipoli in 1915.
Windows
No two windows have the same tracery. Starting at the West end, and proceeding clockwise, the subjects are as follows:
West. (Hardman) Bishop Monk kneels to offer a model of the Church to Christ on His throne. On the left, St. Peter; on the right, St. Paul.
North Aisle.1. The three lights show (a)The supper at Emmaus; (b) The women at the empty tomb on Easter morning; (c) Our Lord showing his wounds to doubting Thomas. (In memory of Charlotte Harriet Harford, died 1885). 2. (a) Simeon recognises the infant Jesus in the Temple; (b) Jesus blessing the children; (c) Jesus being taught to read by his mother, while His grandmother St Anne stands by. (In memory of Arthur John Smyth Osbourne, died 1881, aged 4).
North Sanctuary The two lights show Joshua, Gideon, Caleb and David, with, above: (a) Gideon receiving his commission to destroy the Midianites; (b) David slaying Goliath; and below: (a) Joshua’s vision of the captain of the Lord’s host before Jericho; (b) Caleb smiting the sons of Anak. (In memory of Capt. Edward Gore Langton, of Stapleton Park (now Beech House), died 1860, a veteran of the Peninsula and Waterloo).
East Window The five principal lights show the Crucifixion. The five smaller pictures below (partly hidden by the reredos) are: (a) Christ’s entry into Jerusalem; (b)The raising of Lazarus; (c) The Last Supper; (d) Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane; (e) Christ carrying His cross.
South Sanctuary (a) Jesus with Martha and Mary at Bethany; (b) The raising of Lazarus. (In memory of Frances Matilda Gore Langton, died 1864)
South Chancel 1. (a) Mary Magdalene meets the risen Christ in the garden; (b) The good works of Dorcas. (In memory of Ann, widow of Capt Edward Gore Langton, died 1869). 2. (Kempe) The Annunciation. (In memory of Margaret Catherine Heberden, died 1887, aged 17).
Lady Chapel (East) The four lights show one picture of the Adoration of the Magi (Damaged by bomb blast in the Second World War; restored 1949)
South Aisle 1 (Kempe) (a) St. Margaret, a Roman virgin, beheaded rather than marry a heathen; (b) St. Catherine, a virgin of Egypt, tortured on a wheel and beheaded; (c) St. Agnes of Rome, also beheaded rather than marry a heathen. (In memory of Catherine Osbourne, died 1888) 2. (a) St. Giles, with his hand pierced by the arrow intended for his friend, the hind; (b) St. Augustine of Canterbury; (c) St. Lucy of Syracuse, beheaded for her faith. (In memory of Alfred William Beasley Brooks, died 1927, and of his wife, Lucy Anne, died 1908)
Memorials
Over the North Door is a memorial to the Walter family erected by Mary Whitchurch, sole heiress of Rowles Walter, and mother of Jane Smyth. On the West wall of the North Aisle are tablets erected by Jane Smyth to her mother and aunt, and another to the Revd. Henry Shute (the elder), Domestic Chaplain to the Dowager Duchess of Beaufort. Other tablets from the second Church are now on the inside walls of the Tower
Bells
A peal of six:
Treble : 1872
2 : Undated
3 : Originally 1669 (From the first Church) Recast 1990 by Taylor’s of Loughborough
4 : 1792 (From the second Church)
5 :1792 (From the second Church)
Tenor : 1845 (From the second Church)
Old Font
The square font in the West porch has been dated to about 1000 A.D. When the second church was demolished this font was sold to Bishop Monk’s former butler, who kept the Bell Inn, where it was used as a geranium pot. It was discovered and returned to the church by the Revd. W. H. Shaw (Rector 1891–1908).The font, of Dundry stone, has an overflow channel in one corner; other marks show where the hinges and lock were fitted for the font-cover, necessary to prevent the superstitious use of the consecrated water.
Recent Improvements
1987: Gas central heating installed. Toilet adjoining Vestry. Access ramp by Vestry door with level approach and new opening to side of North Porch.
1993: Electric lighting, which had replaced gas in 1948, renewed. New floodlighting for spire.
The church of St Thomas the Apostle in Eastville was consecrated in 1889 but is now a Pentecostal hall.
Stapleton is home to Colston's School, a co-educational independent school named after the seventeenth century merchant and philanthropist
Edward Colston
. The school moved to the village in 1861 taking over a site in the west of the village that had previously been the Bishops' Palace and which has been designated by English Heritage
as a grade II listed building,
Further North is the Masonic Hall, home to the Filton
Chapter of Freemasons
In the mid 1990s a major development by the house builders Beazer Homes (now Persimmon plc
)added over one hundred and fifty houses on the site of an old hospital between Bell Hill and the M32 motorway. These homes range from small two-bedroomed terraces to 4 and 5 bedroom villas. Also included was the refurbishment and development of Beech House (a former estate owner's home) into housing, and Linden House (a former farm house) into apartment accommodation. The development was known as Glendale Grange until incorporated into the village on its completion in 1999.
This development also gave the village a purpose built and substantial village green
bounded by Baileys Mead Road (one of the main roads in the new part of the village) to the North and East and Beech House to the South. This green features a fully enclosed play park for younger children. The green plays host to many village and community events including Summer Fayres and barbecues, Christmas carol concerts. It now compromises the hub of the village.
This part of the village is also home to New Friends Hall, a division of the North Bristol NHS Trust
and also, across the Motorway, Heath House Hospital, part of the Priory Group
.
On the hilltop to the North of the Priory buildings (on Purdown) is the Pur Down BT Tower
. It is one of twelve reinforced concrete towers owned by BT in the UK. It is used mainly for point-to-point microwave links and forms part of the British Telecom microwave network
. Although not open to the public, public footpaths lead, via a bridge over the M32 motorway to the lands around the tower.
, Ministry of Defence
and Hewlett Packard, whose campuses are all within five kilometres of the centre of the village. The combination of easy access to the city and its major employers and lower than average congestion levels makes Stapleton an increasingly desirable place to live, pushing up house prices.
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s of the city
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
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
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...
. The name is colloquially used today to describe the ribbon village along Bell Hill and Park Road in the Frome Valley. It borders Eastville
Eastville
There are several places bearing the name Eastville:*Eastville, Bristol, England*Eastville, Lincolnshire, England*Eastville, Nova Scotia, Canada*Eastville, Virginia, USA...
to the South and Begbrook and Frenchay
Frenchay
Frenchay is a suburb of Bristol, England, to the north east of the city, but located mainly in South Gloucestershire and the Civil Parish of Winterbourne....
to the North. It comprises an eclectic mix of housing mainly from the 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...
, Edwardian, inter-war and late twentieth century periods.
It is a popular residential area on three counts. It is convenient for the M32 motorway (with rapid access the M4
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
and M5
M5
-Roads:* M5 motorway, England* M5 South Western Motorway, Sydney, Australia* Metroad 5 , Brisbane, Australia, comprising the M5 Centenary Freeway and M5 Western Freeway* M5 motorway , Northern Ireland* M5 motorway...
), it is a semi rural area within two miles of central 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...
and it boasts a popular public school.
The ancient 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 covered Fishponds and Eastville
Eastville
There are several places bearing the name Eastville:*Eastville, Bristol, England*Eastville, Lincolnshire, England*Eastville, Nova Scotia, Canada*Eastville, Virginia, USA...
and was originally within Kingswood
Kingswood, South Gloucestershire
Kingswood is an urban area in South Gloucestershire, England, bordering the City of Bristol to the west. It is located on both sides of the A420 road, which connects Bristol and Chippenham and which forms the high street through the principal retail zone...
Forest. The Saxon
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
hamlet
Hamlet (place)
A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...
of Stapleton, first documented in 1208, stood at the edge of the forest, just north of the River Frome
River Frome, Bristol
The River Frome is a river, approximately long, which rises in Dodington Park, South Gloucestershire, and flows in a south westerly direction through Bristol, joining the former course of the river Avon in Bristol's Floating Harbour. The mean flow at Frenchay is The name Frome is shared with...
. Finds of 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
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
s point to even earlier habitation. Even in the 18th century it was still heavily wooded.
The hamlet was donated to Tewkesbury Abbey
Tewkesbury Abbey
The Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Tewkesbury in the English county of Gloucestershire is the second largest parish church in the country and a former Benedictine monastery.-History:...
in 1174 by William, Earl of Gloucester
William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester
William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester was the son and heir of Sir Robert de Caen, 1st Earl of Gloucester, and Mabel FitzHamon of Gloucester, daughter of Robert Fitzhamon.- Lineage :...
. By the late 16th century it was the property of the Berkeley family of Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford is a large dormitory village, and parish in South Gloucestershire, England, in the northern suburbs of Bristol. It has around 11,000 residents as of the 2001 Census. It is home to Bristol Parkway station, on the London-South Wales railway line, and the Bristol offices of Friends Life...
, and was passed down to the Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Beaufort
Duke of Beaufort is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, a Lancastrian leader in the Wars of the...
who retained the estate until the early 20th century, selling it in 1917.
Stapleton's church is a prominent Bristol landmark, visible from the M32 motorway
M32 motorway
The M32 is a motorway in South Gloucestershire and Bristol, England. It provides a link from Bristol city centre to the M4 and is part of the Bristol Parkway. At about , it is one of Britain's shortest motorways...
as motorists exit the city.
Mining
CoalCoal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
was mined in the area, there being some 70 pits by 1700, and vast numbers of local men were employed throughout the 18th century. In the 1890s the mines produced a thousand tons per day.
Stapleton was inclosed in 1781, Stapleton Common being sold as 9 lots, mostly to the Duke of Beaufort.
Famous people
Frances MiltonFrances Trollope
Frances Milton Trollope was an English novelist and writer who published as Mrs. Trollope or Mrs. Frances Trollope...
, the mother of Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope
Anthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
was born in the village in 1780, and Sarah Young, the mother of Thomas Chatterton
Thomas Chatterton
Thomas Chatterton was an English poet and forger of pseudo-medieval poetry. He died of arsenic poisoning, either from a suicide attempt or self-medication for a venereal disease.-Childhood:...
was also born there. The India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n social reformer Ram Mohan Roy
Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian religious, social, and educational reformer who challenged traditional Hindu culture and indicated the lines of progress for Indian society under British rule. He is sometimes called the father of modern India...
died at Beech House, the home of Lant Carpenter
Lant Carpenter
Lant Carpenter, Dr. was an English educator and Unitarian minister.Lant Carpenter was born in Kidderminster, the third son of George Carpenter and his wife Mary ....
, nursed by his daughter Mary
Mary Carpenter
Mary Carpenter was an English educational and social reformer. The daughter of a Unitarian minister, she founded a ragged school and reformatories, bringing previously unavailable educational opportunities to poor children and young offenders in Bristol.She published articles and books on her work...
in 1833. Roy had paid a brief visit to the House.
The village grew steadily; in the 1871 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
there were 6,960 inhabitants and by 1901 that had risen to 21,236.
Sport
In 1863 a cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
club was formed, its most famous player being Dr. William Gilbert Grace
W. G. Grace
William Gilbert Grace, MRCS, LRCP was an English amateur cricketer who is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time, having a special significance in terms of his importance to the development of the sport...
who played for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
and England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
. At Purdown a football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team called the Black Arabs were to become Bristol Rovers. (Purdown is reputedly haunted by the ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
of a Duchess of Beaufort who was struck by lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
, though many believe she died in a tragic horse riding accident.)
Transport
Also in the 19th century two lines of the Great Western RailwayGreat Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
were built through the area, meeting at Stapleton Road railway station
Stapleton Road railway station
Stapleton Road railway station lies in the inner city area of Easton, Bristol, England.It is a railway station on the Severn Beach Line; although it is also served by hourly trains between Gloucester and Westbury....
which was opened on 8 September 1863. Tram
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
ways were also built, horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
drawn at first, but then electric
Electric power
Electric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
- they reached Fishponds in 1897. The village of Stapleton lies along the B4058 road
B4058 road
The B4058 is a minor road in southwest England. It starts in Eastville, a suburb of Bristol and ends at Nailsworth in the Cotswolds, passing through the counties of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire.- Route :...
but is now bypassed by the M32
M32
M32 may refer to:* Messier 32, an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Andromeda* M32 motorway, a motorway in Bristol, England* M-32 , a state highway traversing northern lower Michigan from the town of East Jordan to the city of Alpena...
motorway that runs to the West and North of the village. Junction 2 of this motorway is just south of the village and provides convenient access to the M4 and M5 motorways, respectively four and seven kilometres from the junction. This has helped provide rapid access to Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
in South Wales
South Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, the M4 Corridor
M4 corridor
The M4 corridor is the area in the United Kingdom adjacent to the M4 motorway, which runs from London to South Wales. The area is a major hub for high-technology companies...
towards London and the Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
area.
Buildings
HistoryThere has been a Church on this site for at least 500 years.The original dedication was to St. Giles, but between 1691 and 1720 the old Church was demolished and a new one, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, erected in its place. In 1854 the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, Bishop Monk, whose official residence was what is now Colston’s School, offered to rebuild the Church at his own cost, desiring “my fellow parishioners to understand that my motives in this work are to remove the source of dispute and contention for pews, caused by the inadequate size of the Church, and to provide sittings for the poor as well as other classes of Parishioners”. The Chancel was rebuilt at the cost of the lay rector, Greville Smyth, and the new Church was dedicated on 15 April 1857. The Choir Vestry was added in 1892.
The Benefice
At first the Church was the responsibility of the Benedictine monks of the Priory of St. James, who appointed chaplains. The first Vicar was instituted in 1540, after the dissolution of the monasteries. In 1544 St. James’ Priory with all its assets, including the rectory and tithes of St. Giles’ Church, was sold to Henry Brayne, a merchant tailor of London. In 1626 the Heath House estate, with the rectory and tithes, was bought by Thomas Walter, from whom they descended to the Smyth family of Ashton Court, as described in the tablet over the North Door. The lay rectory and tithes were surrendered by Greville Smyth in 1857, when the Vicar became the Rector, but the right of presentation to the benefice was retained by the family until 1948, when it was transferred to the Bishop of Bristol.
The Church
The Church is a fine example of Victorian Gothic architecture in the Decorated style. It was built of Pennant stone quarried locally at Broom Hill and the stone for the dressings came from quarries near Bath.
Exterior
The Tower with its spire is a commanding feature rising to a height of 170 feet. Coupled buttresses at its angles rise boldly in five stages to the rich parapet and are capped with crocketted pinnacles. These flank the spire whose eight angles are ornamented with crockets carved in Bath stone bands, the general facing being of Pennant stone in courses. A large metal cross surmounts the finial of the spire.At the foot of the Tower is the elaborately carved West Doorway.
Interior
The springing of the arches, the roof-corbels and window heads are enriched by fine carvings of heads, angels with musical instruments, and foliage. The whole of the roof is of oak, that in the chancel being ribbed and carved.
Font
This dates from 1857 and is of alabaster set on marble pillars. The oak cover is a memorial to two members of the Hall family who fell in the First World War.
Pulpit
This seems to have been made for some other church where the steps would have wound round a pillar. The Caenstone body rests on serpentine shafts with foliated capitals. and three of the panels contain carved representations of preaching – Christ in the centre, and St Peter and St Paul on the left and right respectively.
Lectern
A fine brass eagle given in memory of Charles Castle, died 1886.
Choir Stalls
Notable for the finely carved foliage and figures of kneeling angels.
Reredos
This was given by the Revd. W. H. Shaw at the time of the Church’s jubilee in 1907. It shows Our Lord holding out His hands in invitation while angels stand or kneel on either side.
Organ
A two-manual instrument by Vowles of Bristol. Built in 1873, it now has electro-pneumatic action with 21 speaking stops.
Lady Chapel
The oak reredos and communion rail were given in memory of Lt. Fitzroy Charles Phillpotts, who fell at Gallipoli in 1915.
Windows
No two windows have the same tracery. Starting at the West end, and proceeding clockwise, the subjects are as follows:
West. (Hardman) Bishop Monk kneels to offer a model of the Church to Christ on His throne. On the left, St. Peter; on the right, St. Paul.
North Aisle.1. The three lights show (a)The supper at Emmaus; (b) The women at the empty tomb on Easter morning; (c) Our Lord showing his wounds to doubting Thomas. (In memory of Charlotte Harriet Harford, died 1885). 2. (a) Simeon recognises the infant Jesus in the Temple; (b) Jesus blessing the children; (c) Jesus being taught to read by his mother, while His grandmother St Anne stands by. (In memory of Arthur John Smyth Osbourne, died 1881, aged 4).
North Sanctuary The two lights show Joshua, Gideon, Caleb and David, with, above: (a) Gideon receiving his commission to destroy the Midianites; (b) David slaying Goliath; and below: (a) Joshua’s vision of the captain of the Lord’s host before Jericho; (b) Caleb smiting the sons of Anak. (In memory of Capt. Edward Gore Langton, of Stapleton Park (now Beech House), died 1860, a veteran of the Peninsula and Waterloo).
East Window The five principal lights show the Crucifixion. The five smaller pictures below (partly hidden by the reredos) are: (a) Christ’s entry into Jerusalem; (b)The raising of Lazarus; (c) The Last Supper; (d) Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane; (e) Christ carrying His cross.
South Sanctuary (a) Jesus with Martha and Mary at Bethany; (b) The raising of Lazarus. (In memory of Frances Matilda Gore Langton, died 1864)
South Chancel 1. (a) Mary Magdalene meets the risen Christ in the garden; (b) The good works of Dorcas. (In memory of Ann, widow of Capt Edward Gore Langton, died 1869). 2. (Kempe) The Annunciation. (In memory of Margaret Catherine Heberden, died 1887, aged 17).
Lady Chapel (East) The four lights show one picture of the Adoration of the Magi (Damaged by bomb blast in the Second World War; restored 1949)
South Aisle 1 (Kempe) (a) St. Margaret, a Roman virgin, beheaded rather than marry a heathen; (b) St. Catherine, a virgin of Egypt, tortured on a wheel and beheaded; (c) St. Agnes of Rome, also beheaded rather than marry a heathen. (In memory of Catherine Osbourne, died 1888) 2. (a) St. Giles, with his hand pierced by the arrow intended for his friend, the hind; (b) St. Augustine of Canterbury; (c) St. Lucy of Syracuse, beheaded for her faith. (In memory of Alfred William Beasley Brooks, died 1927, and of his wife, Lucy Anne, died 1908)
Memorials
Over the North Door is a memorial to the Walter family erected by Mary Whitchurch, sole heiress of Rowles Walter, and mother of Jane Smyth. On the West wall of the North Aisle are tablets erected by Jane Smyth to her mother and aunt, and another to the Revd. Henry Shute (the elder), Domestic Chaplain to the Dowager Duchess of Beaufort. Other tablets from the second Church are now on the inside walls of the Tower
Bells
A peal of six:
Treble : 1872
2 : Undated
3 : Originally 1669 (From the first Church) Recast 1990 by Taylor’s of Loughborough
4 : 1792 (From the second Church)
5 :1792 (From the second Church)
Tenor : 1845 (From the second Church)
Old Font
The square font in the West porch has been dated to about 1000 A.D. When the second church was demolished this font was sold to Bishop Monk’s former butler, who kept the Bell Inn, where it was used as a geranium pot. It was discovered and returned to the church by the Revd. W. H. Shaw (Rector 1891–1908).The font, of Dundry stone, has an overflow channel in one corner; other marks show where the hinges and lock were fitted for the font-cover, necessary to prevent the superstitious use of the consecrated water.
Recent Improvements
1987: Gas central heating installed. Toilet adjoining Vestry. Access ramp by Vestry door with level approach and new opening to side of North Porch.
1993: Electric lighting, which had replaced gas in 1948, renewed. New floodlighting for spire.
The church of St Thomas the Apostle in Eastville was consecrated in 1889 but is now a Pentecostal hall.
Stapleton is home to Colston's School, a co-educational independent school named after the seventeenth century merchant and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
Edward Colston
Edward Colston
Edward Colston was a Bristol-born English merchant and Member of Parliament. Much of his wealth, although used often for philanthropic purposes, was acquired through the trade and exploitation of slaves...
. The school moved to the village in 1861 taking over a site in the west of the village that had previously been the Bishops' Palace and which has been designated by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
as a grade II listed building,
Further North is the Masonic Hall, home to the Filton
Filton
Filton is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Bristol, about from the city centre. Filton lies in Bristol postcode areas BS7 and BS34. The town centres upon Filton Church, which dates back to the 12th century and is a grade II listed building...
Chapter of Freemasons
In the mid 1990s a major development by the house builders Beazer Homes (now Persimmon plc
Persimmon plc
Persimmon plc is a British housebuilding company, headquartered in York, England, at a building called Persimmon House. The Company is named after a horse which won the 1896 Derby and St. Leger for the Prince of Wales. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE...
)added over one hundred and fifty houses on the site of an old hospital between Bell Hill and the M32 motorway. These homes range from small two-bedroomed terraces to 4 and 5 bedroom villas. Also included was the refurbishment and development of Beech House (a former estate owner's home) into housing, and Linden House (a former farm house) into apartment accommodation. The development was known as Glendale Grange until incorporated into the village on its completion in 1999.
This development also gave the village a purpose built and substantial village green
Village green
A village green is a common open area which is a part of a settlement. Traditionally, such an area was often common grass land at the centre of a small agricultural settlement, used for grazing and sometimes for community events...
bounded by Baileys Mead Road (one of the main roads in the new part of the village) to the North and East and Beech House to the South. This green features a fully enclosed play park for younger children. The green plays host to many village and community events including Summer Fayres and barbecues, Christmas carol concerts. It now compromises the hub of the village.
This part of the village is also home to New Friends Hall, a division of the North Bristol NHS Trust
North Bristol NHS Trust
North Bristol NHS Trust is a National Health Service trust providing community healthcare and hospital services to Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. Hospital services are provided through Frenchay Hospital and Southmead Hospital...
and also, across the Motorway, Heath House Hospital, part of the Priory Group
Priory Group
The Priory Group is an independent provider of mental health care facilities in the United Kingdom. They also manage schools, some for students with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism...
.
On the hilltop to the North of the Priory buildings (on Purdown) is the Pur Down BT Tower
Pur Down BT Tower
Purdown BT Tower was built in 1970 and is located on a hill just north of the city centre of Bristol, in the Lockleaze suburb, UK . It is a prominent landmark, visible from much of the city. It is one of twelve reinforced concrete towers owned by BT in the UK...
. It is one of twelve reinforced concrete towers owned by BT in the UK. It is used mainly for point-to-point microwave links and forms part of the British Telecom microwave network
British Telecom microwave network
The British Telecom microwave network was a network of point-to-point microwave radio links in the United Kingdom, operated at first by the General Post Office, and subsequently by its successor BT plc...
. Although not open to the public, public footpaths lead, via a bridge over the M32 motorway to the lands around the tower.
Demography
In 2010 the village substantially comprises families who work locally or within the Greater Bristol area. Many of the working residents have technical positions within the University of the West of EnglandUniversity of the West of England
The University of the West of England is a university based in the English city of Bristol. Its main campus is at Frenchay, about five miles north of the city centre...
, Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
and Hewlett Packard, whose campuses are all within five kilometres of the centre of the village. The combination of easy access to the city and its major employers and lower than average congestion levels makes Stapleton an increasingly desirable place to live, pushing up house prices.
External links
- Stapleton parish church (Holy Trinity) – with photographs
- Holy Trinity Stapleton parish
- GENUKI Stapleton