Стэплтон: История и современность пригорода Бристоля

Stapleton is an area in the northeastern suburbs 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 20th 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. Stapleton's church is a prominent Bristol landmark, visible from the M32 motorway as motorists pass by.

The name is from the Old English word "stapol" meaning post and "ton" meaning settlement. The antiquary John Weever, quoting the 16th century Tuscan merchant Lodovico Guicciardini, defined a staple town "to be a place, to which by the prince's authority and privilege wool, hides of beasts, wine, corn or grain, and other exotic or foreign merchandize are transferred, carried or conveyed to be sold". In European historiography, the term "staple" refers to the entire medieval system of trade and its taxation. Under this system, the government or the ruler required that all overseas trade in certain goods be transacted at specific designated market "staple towns" or ports, referred to as the "staple ports". 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 coins point to even earlier habitation. Even in the 18th century, it was still heavily wooded. Stapleton was enclosed in 1781, Stapleton Common being sold as 9 lots, mostly to the Duke of Beaufort. Stapleton, then in Gloucestershire, became a civil parish in 1866, but on 1 April 1898 the parish was abolished and merged with Bristol. In 1891 the parish had a population of 14,589. From 1894 to 1898 Stapleton was an urban district of which contained the parish.

Coal 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. The village grew steadily; in the 1871 census there were 6,960 inhabitants and by 1901 that had risen to 21,236.

In 1863 a cricket 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 horse riding accident.)

Also in the 19th century, two lines of the Great Western Railway were built through the area, meeting at Stapleton Road railway station which was opened on 8 September 1863. Tramways 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. In 2022, the number 5 bus was withdrawn and replaced with the 47, which bypassed the area, and the Y4 bus was withdrawn. The area now has no bus service.

The church of St Thomas the Apostle in Eastville was consecrated in 1889 but is now a Pentecostal hall. Stapleton is home to Collegiate School, a co educational independent school; the school was previously named Colston's School after the 17th century merchant, slave trader 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 Bishop's Palace, and which has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building. Originally called Stapleton house, it became the home of the Bishop of Bristol and Gloucester in 1840 after his previous residence was burnt down during the Reform Bill Riots. 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 Purdown 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.

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 England, 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.