Bristol: Houses ancient & modern, in Shirehampton

First Bus services 40 & 40A run between Cribbs Causeway and Old Market via Shirehampton High Street.

First Bus service 41 runs between Avonmouth and Old Market via Shirehampton High Street.

Wessex service 501 runs between Avonmouth and Abbey Wood MOD via St Mary’s Road, Waverley Road and (part of) Shirehampton High Street.

Wessex service 502 runs between Shirehampton (Dursley Road) and UWE Frenchay via Station Road and Shirehampton High Street.

There is a public car park in Waverley Road (behind the Health Centre) as well as the Health Centre car park.

This walk starts from Shirehampton Health Centre, in Pembroke Road.

[1] Walk towards Pembroke Road and turn left to walk along the pavement beside the Health Centre; at its far end, turn left along the wide track behind the Health Centre to reach the car park.  Walk ahead and slightly right across the car park towards the yellow cross-hatching (looking out for moving vehicles) and go through the pedestrian gateway to the left of the green bins.

[2] Walk straight ahead along Walton Road, with its smartly decorated Victorian terraced houses on the right and modern bungalows on the left.

[3] At the end, turn left onto Springfield Avenue (A).  Walk along, crossing Church Leaze and turn left into Bradley Crescent. Go along the left-hand pavement of this street of Victorian terrace houses until opposite Bradley Avenue.

[4] Cross over to go along Bradley Avenue, following the left-hand pavement around the sharp bend to the left. Continue until level with a (signed) narrow footpath on the left.

[5] Do NOT go down the footpath; instead, go right across the road to go down a wider path towards the school visible ahead. When you reach Pembroke Avenue, turn right to walk to the bend in the road. At this point, cross over to walk down the pavement with St Bernard’s RC Church (B) on your right, until you reach Station Road .

[6] At Station Road (C), turn left and walk along, passing the school playground. Opposite is Shirehampton Public Hall and Library (D).  Further on, just after the modern Baptist Church on the left, you will see on your right the derelict structure that was the Shirehampton National School (E).  Cross Pembroke Road (taking care as the road can be busy) and continue walking to curve round to the left as you reach The Green, with its three bus stops. There are seats by the bus stop in the middle of the grass triangle; (take care if crossing over to them, and back again, as traffic comes from several directions.)

[7] Continue on the same pavement round to the left into Shirehampton High Street, with The George Inn opposite, and pass various shops, cafes etc. on both sides until, shortly after passing the Methodist Church on the other side of the road, you reach the start of the churchyard of St Mary’s Church (F).

[8] Turn left down the signed footpath, passing the back of the church until you come to Pembroke Road. Turn right and walk along beside the church, crossing at some point to return to the Health Centre. An alternative is to continue walking along the High Street as far as the front of the church, and then turning left along the driveway to reach Pembroke Road opposite the Health Centre.

The village of Shirehampton grew up around the lowest safe river crossing of the river Avon, by ferry to Pill; this ran continuously until 1974, when it was superseded by the M5 bridge.

Shirehampton expanded with the construction of the Bristol Port Railway and Pier Company railway in 1865 and the opening of the first Avonmouth docks in 1877; many terraced houses and some public buildings were constructed.

(A) Springfield Avenue.  Note the distinctive terrace of pre-First World War houses in Garden Suburb style.  In 1909, the Bristol Garden Suburb Limited was set up to implement the ideas of Ebenezer Howard. These were focused on getting the environment right through good design, good public transport and providing work opportunities close to homes, leading to sociable and integrated communities. They were a reaction against industrial slums and back to back housing. Some houses were completed (Passage Leaze, Springfield Avenue) but work ended with the start of the First World War.

(B) St Bernard’s RC Church - built in stages between 1903 & 1973.

(C) Station Road - This was one of the first "new" roads, dating from 1865 when the railway along the Avon gorge was built.

(D) Shirehampton Public Hall, dating from 1904 and now incorporating the Public Library.

(E) Shirehampton National School - The date above the window is 1892, but the first part of the building dates from 1846. It ceased being a school in 1926, and more recently was a Snooker Hall for some years.

(F) St Mary's Church - rebuilt in 1928 after an earlier church burnt down.

Toilets and baby changing facilities are available in the Health Centre, when it is open: Monday - Friday 8.30am - 6.30pm; some Saturday mornings

Refreshments (cafes, pubs and shops etc) available, mainly in the High Street.

There are seats on The Green.

Some information about street names & history has come from http://www.shire.org.uk/content/history/streetnames.pdf

Text © Richard Coates 2011

The moral right of Richard Coates to be identified as the author of The Street­ Names of Shirehampton and Avonmouth has been asserted.