Bishopsworth is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

an neighbourhood and

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of the city of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. It is located in the south of the city and has a high proportion of council housing. Local facilities include shops and pubs, a public library, community arts centre and an indoor skate park. Bishopsworth electoral ward contains the Bedminster Down, Headly Park, Highridge and Uplands areas, and had a population of 12,274 at the 2021 census. Historically, as a civil parish separate from Bristol, Bishopsworth contained

Hartcliffe Hartcliffe is an outer suburb of the city of Bristol, England, on the southern edge of the city at the foot of Dundry Hill. It is a post-World War II development consisting largely of council houses. It is one of the poorer areas of Bristol, wi ...

and Withywood, and colloquially those are often still considered areas of Bishopsworth, though they are not within the current electoral ward.

History

Bishopsworth was historically the

tything A tithing or tything was a historic English legal, administrative or territorial unit, originally ten hides (and hence, one tenth of a hundred). Tithings later came to be seen as subdivisions of a manor or civil parish. The tithing's leader or s ...

of Bishport in the parish of Bedminster in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

. The rural southern parts of Bedminster became the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Bedminster Without from 1894 to 1898, when that parish was abolished and most of it became the new civil parish of Bishopsworth. Large parts of the civil parish were absorbed into Bristol in 1930 and 1933, and the civil parish was abolished on 1 April 1951 and merged with Bristol, parts went to

Long Ashton Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a populat ...

and

Dundry Dundry is a village and civil parish, situated on Dundry Hill in the northern part of the Mendip Hills, between Bristol and the Chew Valley Lake, in the English county of North Somerset, previously Somerset. The parish includes the hamlets ...

. In 1931 the parish had a population of 1,866. In 1928 the

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Bedminster Down was created from the north of Bishopsworth in response to the development of the area. The ecclesiastical parishes of

and Withywood were separated off more recently.

Church

The first church in Bishopsworth was a small chapel dedicated to St Peter and St Paul built under an arrangement in 1194 between Robert Arthur,

lord of the manor Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

, and George de Dunster, prebendary of Bedminster. The agreement provided for a chaplain to visit from Bedminster on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. This provision continued until dissolution in 1540. The chapel was converted into three cottages which stood until the Corporation demolished them in 1961 to make way for a swimming pool, which was built in the early 1970s. The pool has since been converted into a skate park, Campus Pool. The present St Peter's Church, was built in 1841–1843. The

neo-Norman Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

design was the work of Samuel Charles Fripp. It is a grade II*

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

Bishopsworth Manor and Listed Buildings

Bishopsworth Manor was built around 1720 and is grade II* listed. It was owned in the 1970s and 1980s by the late Denis Bristow who restored much of it to its present state. The School House and attached school rooms in church road were built around 1840 in a Tudor Revival style and is grade II listed. Chestnut Court dates from the early 18th century in an early Georgian style.

Headley Park

Located south-west of Manor Woods Valley, the Headley Park housing estate was built in the east of Bishopsworth between 1934 and 1938. The area is served by The Maytree public house and Headly Park Church, ran by senior pastor Simon Dowland originally known as Crossways Tabernacle. Headley Park Church - geograph

The neighbourhood holds one primary school, Headley Park Primary School; recently branded with a ‘Good’ rating by Ofsted

Highridge

The most westernmost neighbourhood of Bishopsworth, Highridge is a mostly suburban area home to local football team Highridge United who play in division three of the

Somerset County League The Somerset County League is a football competition based in England. The Premier Division operates at step 7 (or level 11) of the National League System. It is a feeder to the Western League Division One and has promoted ten clubs to it since ...

The area holds a large open park, Kings Head Lane Park, with a play area for children and a football pitch.

Imperial Retail Park

In the southeasternmost point of Bishopsworth, just northwest of the Hengrove Way Roundabout, is 347,000 square feet of retail space known as Imperial Park. The park holds 20 different stores and eateries. The B&Q is the largest unit in the retail park, spanning over 105,000 square feet. Lakeshore fire March 2025

Just south of the retail park is the Lakeshore estate, originally built in 1967 as Imperial Tobacco Headquarters and then rebuilt in 2012 as an apartment block. In March 2025, a fire began in the top floor of the flat block.

Electoral ward

Bishopsworth electoral ward is represented by two members on

Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority for the city of Bristol, in South West England. Bristol has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority, being ...

. , these are Richard Eddy of the Conservative Party and Susan Kollar of the Labour Party. The ward was created in 1974, initially represented by three members on Bristol City Council and one member on

Avon County Council Avon County Council was the county council of the non-metropolitan county of Avon in south west England. It came into its powers on 1 April 1974 and was abolished on 1 April 1996 at the same time as the county. The county council was based at A ...

. Its boundaries were adjusted in 1981, 1999 and 2016.legislation.gov.uk �
The City of Bristol (Electoral Changes) Order 1998
Retrieved 4 October 2015. In the 2016 boundary changes, Withywood transferred from Bishopsworth to the new Hartcliffe and Withywood ward.

References

External links

map of Bishopsworth circa 1900
{{Subdivisions of Bristol Grade II* listed buildings in Bristol Grade II listed buildings in Bristol Areas of Bristol Wards of Bristol Former civil parishes in Bristol Places formerly in Somerset