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Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford
	St Michael's Church
	Stoke Gifford Location within Gloucestershire
Population	19,794 (2021 Census, before parish boundary changes)
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	South Western
UK Parliament	Filton and Bradley Stoke;
	List of places UK England Gloucestershire 51°31′01″N 2°32′53″W / 51.517°N 2.548°W

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^[2]

Stoke Gifford is a neighbourhood and parish and electoral ward in the South Gloucestershire district, in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, England. Formerly a separate village, it is now a suburb in the Bristol built-up area, part of the city's North Fringe.^[3] The ward had 14,200 residents in 5,788 households at the 2021 census and the parish had 19,794.^[4]

It is served by Bristol Parkway railway station and is home to Stoke Gifford depot, on the London-South Wales railway line. To the south, it is served by the Bristol Ring Road.

Several major employers and office parks are located in Stoke Gifford, including the Bristol offices of Aviva which took over Friends Life in 2015.^[5] The Stoke Gifford area is also home to the main campus of the University of the West of England, and offices of Hewlett-Packard and MOD Abbey Wood, although since 2023 parish boundary changes these are now in the Stoke Park and Cheswick parish.^[6]

The parish includes the neighbourhoods of Little Stoke and Harry Stoke. It borders Filton, to the south-west, Patchway to the north west, Bradley Stoke to the north, Winterbourne and Hambrook to the east, and Cheswick to the south.^[5]

History

Manor of Giffard

Following the Norman Invasion of 1066, William the Conqueror gave the manor of Stoke Gifford to Osbern Giffard, one of his knights.^[7] Giffard himself was a native of Longueville-le-Giffard, Normandy, now known as Longueville-sur-Scie, from which the 'Gifford' suffix derives. The 'Stoke' part of the name may come from the Stoke Brook, or 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 online.^[8]^[9]

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 (died 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 (died 1347). It became known as Stoke Park, and was rebuilt in 1750 by Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt (died 1770), from a neo-classical design by Thomas Wright.

Urban expansion in the 20th and 21st centuries

Like much of the nearby area, Stoke Gifford saw rapid population expansion in the late 20th century.^[10] Before the 1980s Stoke Gifford was just a small village, straggling along the main street, North Road. In 1987 it was designated for urban expansion, alongside neighbouring Bradley Stoke, as part of the Avon County Council Structural Plan and Northavon Local Plan.

In 2023, following an increase in housing and population in the south of the parish, it was divided into two, with the southern part becoming a new parish of Stoke Park and Cheswick.^[6]

Population history
Year	Population
2001	10,951
2011	15,494
2021	19,794

Governance

The area falls in the Stoke Gifford electoral ward. This ward starts in the east at Winterbourne.

In 1894 Stoke Gifford became part of Barton Regis Rural District, in 1904 it became part of Chipping Sodbury Rural District, in 1935 it became part of Sodbury Rural District,^[11] in 1974 it became part of Northavon non-metropolitan district in the non-metropolitan county of Avon, in 1996 it became part of the South Gloucestershire unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire.

Local amenities

The Church of England parish church of St Michael's is a Grade II* listed building.^[12]

There is a row of shops on Ratcliffe Drive including a Tesco Express, dentist and medical centre and few more shops on one of the roads off North Road. There is a pub, the Beaufort Arms, and a small coffee shop in the Old School Rooms across The Green from the church. There are several large supermarkets within walking distance.^{[citation needed]}

Local children walk or cycle to nearby St Michael's C of E Primary School & Abbeywood Community School,^{[citation needed]} while the church runs a pre-school nursery in the old vicarage.^{[citation needed]} In 2008, a new pre-school and Nursery opened adjacent to Bristol Parkway because of population increases in the surrounding areas.^{[citation needed]} The Old School Rooms hosts the Explorer Scouts, Scouts, Cub Scouts, Beaver Scouts and Brownies.^{[citation needed]}

The area has two parks, each with children's play equipment, and a pair of tennis courts. South of Stoke Gifford is Bristol's Stoke Park, part of a large green area known as the 'Green Lung'.

Stoke Gifford Parish Council provoked national interest and condemnation in April 2016 when they resolved to charge parkrun runners a fee to use a park,^[13] resulting in the closure of the event in June 2016.^[14]

Stoke Gifford Cricket Club has won the Bristol & District 30 over cricket league a record three times in 2018, 2021 and 2022.^[15]

References

^ "Stoke Gifford". City population. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
^ by John WALKER, engraver and printseller, 16, Rosomon Street, Clerkenwell 1795–1802. Exhibited Royal Academy 1796–1800. Landscape engraver and draughtsman. He finished many of his father's plates. Published as"The Copper Plate Magazine, or Monthly Cabinet of Picturesque Prints" many drawn earlier but published 1792..1803 Engraved surface 13 x 17 cm . . .2nd state by Published 1 July 1795 by J. Walker, Rosomans Street, London
^ "South Gloucestershire Suburban Continuation Study". Nash Partnership.
^ "Census 2021: Ward Profile – Stoke Gifford" (PDF). beta.southglos.gov.uk.
^ ^a ^b "Home". Stokegifford.org.uk. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
^ ^a ^b "The South Gloucestershire (Reorganisation of Community Governance) Order 2023" (PDF). South Gloucestershire Council. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
^ "Stoke Gifford Parish Council – A Brief History". Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
^ Adrian Kerton. "Abtract Art by Adrian Kerton, paintings by Isabelle Pommier". Akk.me.uk. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
^ Adrian Kerton (25 March 2009). "Southern Brooks Archaeology". Sbarch.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
^ "North fringe of Bristol Strategic Infrastructure-led Masterplan" (PDF). beta.southglos.gov.uk. August 2022.
^ "Relationships and changes Stoke Gifford AP/CP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
^ "Church of St Michael, Stoke Gifford, South Gloucestershire". britishlistedbuildings.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
^ "Paula Radcliffe joins backlash as council becomes first in world to charge runners who use public park". The Telegraph. 13 April 2016. Archived from the original on 30 July 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
^ "Closure of Little Stoke parkrun | Little Stoke parkrun". parkrun.org.uk. 2 June 2016. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
^ "Stoke Gifford win 30 over cricket league". playcricket.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.