Brislington is an area in the south east 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 ...
, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
.
Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley and St Anne's Wood. Brislington formerly housed the
HTV West Studios on
Bath Road, and this is situated next to the historic
Arnos Vale Cemetery. Other notable landmarks include
Brislington House and the 15th-century
St Luke's Church. During the 18thβ19th century, Brislington was regarded as a picturesque country village and contained many country homes.
For elections to
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 ...
, the area is divided between
Brislington East and
Brislington West electoral wards. It is in
Bristol East parliamentary constituency.
History
The parish of Brislington was historically part of the
Keynsham
Keynsham ( ) is a town and civil parish located on the outskirts of the city of Bristol on the A4 that links the cities of Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Bath in Somerset, England. It had a population of 19,603 at the 2021 Census. It was listed i ...
Hundred
100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101.
In mathematics
100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...
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 ...
.
Brislington is also near to the site of the now demolished chapel of St. Anne's-in-the Wood (actually in nearby
St Anne's), erected by one of the Lords de la Warr, whose family held the manor of Brislington from the late 12th to the mid-16th century; in the 15th century the chapel was a place of
pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
, visited by
Henry VII. After the chapel was demolished following the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, Thomas Amory built a house called "St. Ann's" at the site in the mid-17th century. During the 18th and 19th century, Brislington contained many country homes due to its reputation as a picturesque country village. It was also a notable centre of the making of brightly coloured
English delftware pottery.
Brislington House (now known as Long Fox Manor) was built as a private
lunatic asylum
The lunatic asylum, insane asylum or mental asylum was an institution where people with mental illness were confined. It was an early precursor of the modern psychiatric hospital.
Modern psychiatric hospitals evolved from and eventually replace ...
for the
insane. When it opened in 1806 it was one of England's first purpose built asylums.
The
Palladian
Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508β1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...
fronted building was originally seven separate blocks into which patients were allocated depending on their
class
Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to:
Common uses not otherwise categorized
* Class (biology), a taxonomic rank
* Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects
* Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...
. The buildings, estate and therapeutic regime designed by
Edward Long Fox was based on the principles of
moral treatment
Moral treatment was an approach to mental disorder based on humane psychosocial care or moral discipline that emerged in the 18th century and came to the fore for much of the 19th century, deriving partly from psychiatry or psychology and partly ...
which was fashionable at the time. Brislington House later influenced the design and construction of other asylums and influenced Act of parliament. The house and ancillary structures are
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 ...
s which have now been converted into private residences. The original grounds are Grade II* listed on the
and now include
St. Brendan's Sixth Form College, sports pitches and some farmland. They are now included on the
Heritage at Risk Register
An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...
.
In 1866, Brislington became a
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 ...
. By the early 20th century it was encompassed by Bristol, and much urban housing and industry developed. On 1 April 1933, the civil parish was abolished and absorbed into Bristol. In 1931 the parish had a population of 4279.
Churches in Brislington include
St Luke's (which dates from the 15th century) and includes a bell dating from 1766 and made by Thomas Bilbie of the
Bilbie family,
St Cuthbert
Cuthbert of Lindisfarne () ( β 20 March 687) was a saint of the early Northumbrian church in the Hiberno-Scottish mission, Celtic tradition. He was a monk, bishop and hermit, associated with the monastery, monasteries of Melrose Abbey#Histo ...
s, Carmel Christian Centre, St Christophers and the United Reformed Church.
The
Bristol and North Somerset Railway (later the
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...
) had a station at , which linked the city with the towns of the
Somerset coalfield
The Somerset Coalfield in northern Somerset, England is an area where coal was mined from the 15th century until 1973. It is part of a larger coalfield which stretched into southern Gloucestershire. The Somerset coalfield stretched from Cromh ...
. The line opened in 1873 and was closed to passenger traffic in 1959, with freight services withdrawn in the mid-1960s.
The early 19th-century
Arnos Vale Cemetery is undergoing restoration after a lengthy public and newspaper campaign.
In the early 21st century, Brislington's paint works was converted to studios, offices and houses, home to arts and media organisations.
Education
The area is home to CLC@Brislington, one of Bristol's three
City Learning Centres, which use information communication technology in teaching and learning.
Schools in Brislington include
St. Brendan's Sixth Form College, Holymead Primary School, Broomhill Junior and Infant School, Wicklea Academy, St Anne's Infants School, West Town Lane Primary School, and
Oasis Academy Brislington, a local secondary school.
Sport and leisure
Brislington has a
Non-League football
Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is ...
club
Brislington F.C. who play at Ironmould Lane and a
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
club,
Old Redcliffians who play in
National League 2 West, a level four league in the
English rugby union system
Men's Rugby union in England consists of 106 leagues, which includes professional leagues at the highest level, down to amateur regional leagues. Promotion and relegation are in place throughout the system.
Women's Rugby union in England consi ...
.
References
External links
Article on St. Anne's in the WoodBrislington Conservation and Historical SocietyBrislington Cricketers FCBrislington FCFriends of Arno's ValeThe PaintworksThe City Learning Centre at Brislington Enterprise CollegeBrislington Community Museum online exhibits
{{Areas of Bristol
Areas of Bristol
Former civil parishes in Bristol
Places formerly in Somerset