Whitchurch, Bristol

The name means "the white church", and was first recorded in 1230. Another source dated about 1500 may be a copy of a record dated to 1065. The village church, St Nicholas, was built on the site of a chapel dedicated to St. White, which presumably provides the origin of the village name. The village in its present location dates from about the 12th century, when the centre of population of an older village named Filton, Filwood or Felton, west of the present village, moved to the present site. The parish was still sometimes known as Felton as late as the 19th century. The parish of Whitchurch was part of the Keynsham Hundred in Somerset. John Collinson, who was vicar of Long Ashton and…

]] The suburb now lies in the Hengrove and Whitchurch Park electoral ward. The suburb is one of only two parts of Bristol not to use the 0117 dialling code. Along with Stockwood, Whitchurch numbers use the 01275 code of north Somerset instead. Facilities close by include the Hengrove Leisure Park which has various restaurants and food retailers. Adjacent to the leisure park is Hawkfield Business Park, a significant source of commerce and employment for the suburb. ]] The suburb is home to the Whitchurch Sports Centre, and used to be an occasional venue for pro-boxing bouts. It has a dilapidated Whitchurch athletics stadium. The sports centre is also earmarked for demolition, once the new…