Stoke Bishop

Stoke Bishop is a very affluent and medium-sized outer city suburb in the north-west of Bristol, located in between Westbury-on-Trym, Sneyd Park, and Sea Mills. Although relatively small, Stoke Bishop's population has increased due to substantial infilling on the Smelting Works sports ground and The Grove which used to belong to Clifton High school. The population of Stoke Bishop varies throughout the year because of the influx of students to the large campus of halls of residence situated on the edge of the suburb and the Downs during university term time.Stoke Bishop is also the name of a council ward, which also includes Sneyd Park, most of the Downs and a small area of Sea Mills along the River Trym.The suburb is concentrated around a small village hall and a row of shops on Druid Hill, with a number of small local businesses. The association with Druids arose from a megalithic monument, apparently the remains of a burial chamber, discovered in 1811 off what is now Druid Hill. Druid Stoke House, a Grade II listed building west of Druid Hill dates from the late 18th or early 19th century. The suburb of Druid Stoke was developed in the grounds of Druid Stoke House in the 1930s.Within Stoke Bishop there is a church, St Mary Magdalene (CofE); one primary school, Stoke Bishop C of E Primary, sometimes called Cedar Park, because of its location; and a village hall, which is used for a variety of activities from dog training to karate. There also remains one playing field, Stoke Lodge, mainly used by local schools for athletics, football, and cricket. Recently, a children's play park has been added to this field with parking available at the lodge itself which hosts the thriving Stoke Bishop Adult Adult Education Centre.