Stoke Gifford

Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford  Stoke Gifford shown within Gloucestershire
Population	11,509 (2001 Census)
OS grid reference	ST621799
Civil parish	Stoke Gifford
Unitary authority	South Gloucestershire
Ceremonial county	Gloucestershire
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRISTOL
Postcode district	BS34
Dialling code	01454, 0117
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	Great Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Filton and Bradley Stoke
List of places: UK • England • Gloucestershire

Stoke Park, Stoke Gifford, Glos., hypothetical view from the south-east, as painted by Johannes Kip in 1707. It then belonged to John Berkeley esquire, as stated by the caption above which displays the arms of Berkeley of Stoke Gifford. Published in Britannia Illustrata 1724 edition

Stoke Park in 2011, viewed from south, as visible from the northbound carriageway of the M32 motorway which now cuts across the former parkland. Now known as "The Dower House" and split into private apartments. An engraving of Stoke Park was published in Copperplate Magazine in 1796

Stoke Gifford is a large dormitory village, and parish in South Gloucestershire, England, in the northern suburbs of Bristol. It has around 11,000 residents as of the 2001 Census. It is home to Bristol Parkway station, on the London-South Wales railway line, and the Bristol offices of Friends Life, Hewlett Packard and The University of the West of England. The parish includes neighbouring Little Stoke, Harry Stoke and Stoke Park. The parish borders Filton, to the south-west, Patchway to the north west, Bradley Stoke to the north and Winterbourne and Hambrook to the east,. To the south Stoke Gifford is serviced by the Bristol Ring Road, south of this a large green area known as the 'Green Lung' stretches to the inner city area of St Werburghs.

Descent of the manor

Giffard

Following the Norman Invasion of 1066, William the Conqueror gave the manor of Stoke Gifford to Osbern Giffard, one of his generals. ). Giffard himself was a native of Longueville-le-Giffard, Normandy, now known as Longueville-sur-Scie, which is where the 'Gifford' suffix of the name derives from. The 'Stoke' suffix may come from the Stoke Brook, 'Stoke' may also be a reference to the saxon word 'Stoche' meaning 'property of or dependent farmstead'. Bradley Stoke and Stoke Lodge, both 20th Century estates were also given the name. Extensive histories of Stoke Gifford can be found on Adrian Kerton's web pages and the website of Southern Brooks Archaeology .

Berkeley

Arms of Berkeley of Stoke Gifford: Gules, a chevron ermine between ten crosses pattee argent. These arms may be seen in The Gaunts Chapel, Bristol and are the arms of the Barons Berkeley with the difference of a chevron ermine in place of a chevron argent

The manor remained in the Giffard family until 1337, when it was granted to Maurice de Berkeley(d.1347), 2nd son of Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley(1271-1326). Thus was founded the long and distinguished cadet branch of "Berkeley of Stoke Gifford". In 1553 a new late-Tudor manor house was built by Sir Richard Berkeley(died 1604), 7th. in descent from Maurice de Berkeley(d.1347). It became known as Stoke Park, and was rebuilt in 1750 by Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt(d.1770), from a neo-classical design by Thomas Wright.

Parish church

The local church, St Michael's Church, is influential in running this village, and it is the centre of the community for many of the residents.

Local amenities

The church runs a small coffee shop in the Old School Rooms across The Green from the church, which itself backs onto Parkway Railway Station, an essential transport link for the local people. Also in the local area are two parks, each with children's play equipment; a pair of tennis courts and two pubs. There are a row of shops of Ratcliffe Drive including a Tesco Express, dentist and medical centre and another few shops on one of the roads off North Road. There is a large supermarket within walking distance and most of the local children walk or cycle to nearby Filton High School. stoke lane athletic fooball club est 1974 play at stoke lane playig field

Expansion in 20th century

Like much of the nearby area, Stoke Gifford undertook rapid expansion in the 20th century, prior to the 1980s Stoke Gifford was just a small village, straggling along the main street, North Road.

The local area is very good at providing for the local school children. As well as the parks and tennis courts, many activities and groups run from the Old School Rooms, including Scouts, Cub Scouts, Beaver Scouts, Brownies (Girl Guides).

St.Michael's School was listed in the December 2008 report as 'St Michael's is a good school...the care, guidance and support for pupils is outstanding' Link to the school website below.

In 2008, a new pre-school and Nursery opened adjacent to Bristol Parkway due to the population increases of the surrounding areas.

The history of Stoke Gifford can be found on Adrian Kerton's home page and the Southern Brooks Archaeology Site

Notable people

Alan Medcroft, actor and 2011 Voice of UK for TomTom SatNavs lives in the town.

External links

• Stoke Gifford parish council
• Group on Flickr for photos of Stoke Gifford
• St Michael's School
• History of Stoke Gifford
• Southern Brooks Archaeology