Easton is an

inner city The term ''inner city'' has been used, especially in the United States, as a euphemism for majority-minority lower-income residential districts that often refer to rundown neighborhoods, in a downtown or city centre area. Sociologists some ...

area of the city of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

in the United Kingdom. Informally the area is considered to stretch east of

Bristol city centre Bristol City Centre is the commercial, cultural and business centre of Bristol, England. It is the area north of the New Cut of the River Avon, bounded by Clifton Wood and Clifton to the north-west, Kingsdown and Cotham to the north, and ...

and the M32 motorway, centred on Lawrence Hill. Its southern and eastern borders are less defined, merging into

St Philip's Marsh St Philip's Marsh is an industrial inner suburb of Bristol, England. It is bounded by River Avon and Harbour feeder canal making it an almost island area, unlike the other two areas surrounded by water, it was historically part of Gloucestersh ...

and Eastville. The area includes the Lawrence Hill and Barton Hill estates. In administrative terms, Easton comprises the electoral wards of Easton and part of Lawrence Hill. It is located within the Bristol West constituency. The electoral ward of Easton includes parts of the localities of Netham and

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

, and a large part of Greenbank. The

Bristol & Bath Railway Path The Bristol and Bath Railway Path is a off-road cycleway, part of National Cycle Network National Cycle Route 4. It has a wide tarmacked surface, and was used for 2.4 million trips in 2007, increasing by 10% per year. It was built by the c ...

passes through the ward.

History

In the

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Easton lay within the Royal Forest of Kingswood in the manor of Barton Regis. The name Easton is probably derived from the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

''East Tun'' meaning East Farm. The earliest documentary reference to Easton is Chester and Master's 1610 Map of Kingswood, which depicts three settlements: Upper Easton, which was centered on Easton Road, Lower Easton, which was centered on St Marks Road, and

Baptist Mills Baptist Mills an area of the city of Bristol, England. The name derives from the former mills which stood in that area. Geology The solid geology of Baptist Mills comprises Triassic Redcliffe Sandstone, which is overlain by superficial deposits ...

, on the east bank of the River Frome. In the post-medieval period the area became increasingly industrial with large scale extraction of coal, clay and sand occurring across the area. In the 19th century most of Easton was developed for housing. In the late 1960s and 70s large areas of Easton were demolished to make way for new roads (A4320 Easton Way and the M32 Motorway) and housing estates. During the 1980s crack cocaine epidemic, Easton was heavily hit with drugs. Drug gangs ran the streets of Easton throughout the 1990s and 2000s. There were several shootings in the area between another drug gang in St. Paul's, the two gangs turf were only divided the A4320 Easton Way and M32 Motoway. Gangs in Easton were still strong and violence still continued into the 2010s, by the early 2020s gang violence has drastically reduced and anti-social behaviour is on the decline. Parts of Easton have seen extremely high house price increases over the last decade.

Demographics

The Census 2011 reported that Easton has a higher proportion of under 10s and people in the 25-44 age group than the England and Wales average, but fewer 10 to 15 year olds and people aged over 45. 2011 Census Easton is one of the most deprived areas in the south west of England, with the Lawrence Hill ward the most deprived ward in the region and one of the most deprived in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. This has resulted in the area being granted

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

objective 2 status and 'New Deal for Communities' status by the UK government which is only granted to the most underprivileged urban wards. St Marks Road is a shopping street noted for the exuberant sculpted signs that hang above many of the shop doors, and the architecturally striking illuminated dome of Easton Mosque. There are a number of Moroccan and Indian subcontinent restaurants and shops specialising in organic and ethnic foods.

Banksy

Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigram ...

lived in Easton in the 1990s. There are several of his artworks in the area, although the council inadvertently painted over one and another has had a tin of paint thrown over it. This was possibly done in response to the house that the art was attached to being sold as a piece of Banksy graffiti with a house thrown in for free.http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~rstephen/livingeaston/art/banksy.html
''cems.uwe.ac.uk''

Sport

The area is home to

Easton Leisure Centre Easton Leisure Centre is a leisure centre in Easton, Bristol, UK. It contains a gym and swimming pool. It is one of the three most used leisure facilities in the Bristol City Council area, the other two being Hengrove Park Leisure Centre and Hor ...

Transport

Easton has two railway stations, Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road, which are served by trains on the Severn Beach Line plus services to and from Gloucester and South Wales. The main line to South Wales, the Midlands, Scotland and London also passes through Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road; after which the Severn Beach line branches off just north of. The M32 motorway marks the border of Easton to the north. The A4032

dual carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

cuts the area in two. Greenbank Cemetery - geograph

References

External links

Easton Ward map
Bristol City Council, May 2016
Public houses in Easton

Living Easton
{{coord, 51.45909, -2.56993, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(ST605735), display=title Areas of Bristol Wards of Bristol