Downend, South Gloucestershire

Downend
Downend Downend shown within Gloucestershire
Population	12,125 (2011)^[1]
OS grid reference	ST650774
Civil parish	Downend and Bromley Heath
Unitary authority	South Gloucestershire
Ceremonial county	Gloucestershire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRISTOL
Postcode district	BS
Dialling code	0117
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Filton and Bradley Stoke
List of places UK England Gloucestershire

Coordinates: 51°29′41″N 2°30′18″W / 51.4947°N 2.5049°W / 51.4947; -2.5049

Downend war memorial

A mural of W. G. Grace in Downend

Downend is a suburb of Bristol in South Gloucestershire, England. It is located to the North East of Bristol and bordered by the Bristol City suburb of Fishponds to its south west and the South Gloucestershire suburbs of Staple Hill to the south, Frenchay to the west and Mangotsfield to the East. Between Downend and Frenchay is Cleevewood and Bromley Heath, popular areas for families.

Newspaper readership varies between the popular tabloids, quality broadsheets and regional titles. Levels of book readership are also higher than average. Due to the suburban and rural locations of these households this populace demonstrates a very high propensity to use the internet to purchase goods online, being over 1.4 times more likely to decline a visit to their nearest store and instead buy groceries using the web. This group are more likely to take 2 or even 3 holidays each year. Hotel visits are also frequent, as are visits to their own timeshare property or holiday home.

The outward expansion of Downend dating from the 1980s has been contained by the presence of the M4 motorway which swings around the northern side of Bristol. Downend has little industry within its boundaries, consisting mainly of domestic housing and local shopping facilities. The high street is home to a number of independently owned restaurants, allowing residents to eat out locally. The high street also offers a Sainsbury's and Co-op supermarket, two coffee shops, an independent investment consultancy, a high number of estate agents, most of the Major banks and a designer clothes store.

Downend has a lots of green space and parks including The King George V Playing Fields, and there is also a local cricket club located in the centre of Downend. Secondary and primary schools based in Downend include Downend School, Stanbridge Primary School, Bromley Heath Junior and Infant Schools and Christ Church Junior and Infant Schools. There are a few local churches although the closest are Downend Baptist Church on Salisbury Road and Christ Church on Downend Road. Badminton Road Methodist Church, between Downend and the Avon Ring Road, serves the newer housing alongside Badminton Road and in the Bromley Heath area.

Jenny Jones (snowboarder) and cricketer W. G. Grace were born in the village. Grace played cricket as a boy for the nearby West Gloucestershire Cricket Club, which had been founded by his father, the Downend GP. Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward, members of the band Bananarama, also grew up in Downend (but attended Mangotsfield School). The rock band New Rhodes also lived in Downend for a short time.

Woodland, situated between Croomes Hill and Overndale Road in Downend, was the site of an air crash on 6 November 1957, when a prototype Bristol Britannia aircraft crashed killing the 15-man crew. The prototype aircraft crashed into nearby Britannia Woods, Downend after sweeping across the expanse of 1950s Downend.

Governance

An electoral ward in the same name exists. The total population of the ward at the 2011 census was 10.785.^[2]

Sport and recreation

Downend has a wide range of local parks and open spaces, most notably King George's Field in memorial to King George V, the playing fields are used for Football in the Winter and Cricket in the summer months.

Downend School features the majority of the area's sports facilities, on the school's site there is a Sports Centre, Sports Hall, Changing + shower areas and a Gymnasium. The school has an all-weather football pitch which is hired out regularly for football training by local teams, Netball, Basketball and Nine Tennis Courts, Cricket nets and long jump pits. However there are no rugby pitches because the council decide what sporting facilities it chooses, even though there are three football pitches and the all-weather pitch.

Nearby Stanbridge Primary School offers a range of dance and keep fit classes for the local community outside school hours.

There are tennis courts at Cleeve Hill Tennis Club, Queensholm Park and Page Park. Football is also played at Queensholm Park, Blackhorse Lane, Blackhorse Road and Page Park.

Some nearby community spaces include Bromley Heath park, Victorian Page Park, Lincombe Barn, King George V playing fields, and the former Downend School lower site playing fields.

Downend is close to the Avon Ring Road Cycle Path and the Bristol & Bath Railway Path, which link up with the Avon Cycleway and the National Cycle Network.

The annual Guy Fawkes Night fireworks display is organised by the Downend Round Table.^[3]^[4]

Location grid

Neighbouring urban areas, villages, and hamlets

Downend

Fishponds

Staple Hill

Mangotsfield

References

↑ "civil parish population 2011.Retrieved 19 March 2015".
↑ "Ward population 2011.Retrieved 19 March 2015".
↑ "40th anniversary for Downend Fireworks Show". Bristol Evening Post. 3 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011. Downend Fireworks Show, organised by the Downend Round Table [...]
↑ hrbrsd (2 November 2011). "Forty years of fireworks". kingswoodpeople. Northcliffe Media. Retrieved 11 November 2011. The annual Downend Firework Show, hosted by the Downend Round Table, which attracts crowds of up to 13,000 each year, can trace its beginnings back to Westerleigh Road in 1971.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Downend.

Places in South Gloucestershire

Subdivisions of Bristol

Parliament constituencies	Bristol West Bristol East Bristol South Bristol North West

Wards	Ashley Avonmouth Bedminster Bishopston Bishopsworth Brislington East Brislington West Cabot Clifton Clifton East Cotham Easton Eastville Filwood Frome Vale Hartcliffe Henbury Hengrove Henleaze Hillfields Horfield Kingsweston Knowle Lawrence Hill Lockleaze Redland Southmead Southville St George East St George West Stockwood Stoke Bishop Westbury-on-Trym Whitchurch Park Windmill Hill

Neighbourhoods	City centre Arnos Vale Ashley Down Ashton Gate Ashton Vale Avonmouth Baptist Mills Barton Hill Bedminster Bedminster Down Bishopston Bishopsworth Blaise Hamlet Bower Ashton Brentry Brislington Broadmead Broomhill near Brislington Broomhill near Stapleton Canon's Marsh Chester Park Chittening Clifton Cliftonwood Coombe Dingle Cotham Crew's Hole Crofts End Easton Eastville Filwood Park Fishponds Golden Hill Greenbank Hartcliffe Headley Park Henbury Hengrove Henleaze Hillfields Horfield Hotwells Kensington Park Kingsdown Knowle Knowle West Lawrence Hill Lawrence Weston Lockleaze Lodge Hill Mayfield Park Monks Park Montpelier Old City Redcliffe Redfield Redland Sea Mills Shirehampton Sneyd Park Southmead Southville Speedwell Spike Island St Andrew's St Anne's St. George St. Jude's St. Paul's St Philip's Marsh St. Werburgh's Stapleton Stockwood Stoke Bishop Totterdown Tyndall's Park Upper Knowle Westbury-on-Trym Westbury Park Whitehall Windmill Hill Withywood The following suburbs are in the same urban area, but lie in South Gloucestershire or North Somerset: Bradley Stoke Conham Downend Emerson's Green Filton Frenchay Hambrook Hanham Kingswood Little Stoke Longwell Green Mangotsfield Oldland Common Patchway Soundwell Staple Hill Stoke Gifford Warmley Whitchurch Willsbridge

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