Downend air crash

Downend is an affluent residential outer suburb of Bristol, England, the housing stock is typically terraced Victorian, 1930s and 1950s semi-detached and detached. It is in the South Gloucestershire local district, located to the northeast of Bristol and bordered by the Bristol City suburb of Fishponds, and the South Gloucestershire suburbs of Staple Hill, Frenchay, Mangotsfield, and Emersons Green. On 19 January 2020 The Sunday Times ran an article which named Downend as one of the UK's best suburbs.Downend forms, with the suburb of Bromley Heath, the civil parish of Downend and Bromley Heath, created in 2003.

Emersons Green is a suburb of Bristol and parish in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire. Sitting 7 miles northeast of Bristol, England. It was developed from farming land during the 1990s and early 21st century, and sits within the historic parish of Mangotsfield. Coal was mined from the area during the 19th century. To the south there is a quarry, which has been reactivated. A science and technology park, in conjunction with Bristol University and University of the West of England, named Bristol & Bath Science Park, has been built on an area of land adjacent to the M4 motorway and the A4174 ringroad. Construction of the £300 million Bristol and Bath Science Park began in early 2010. It was opened in September 2011 and is expected to create 6,000 new jobs within the science and technology sector, when it is completed in 2020. A link road connecting the M4 to the Avon ring road (A4174) has now been considered a necessary addition to the area, to accommodate the increase in traffic due to the science park.

Staple Hill railway station was on the Midland Railway line between Bristol and Gloucester on the outskirts of Bristol. The station was on the Bristol and Gloucester Railway line, but opened in 1888, 44 years after the line had been opened through the site. It served the Victorian suburban developments in the area to the south of Mangotsfield. Staple Hill was served by stopping trains between Bristol and Gloucester and also by trains between Bristol and Bath that used the Mangotsfield and Bath Branch Line. Set in a cutting and with a tunnel at the east end of the station, it had difficult access and was approach by zigzag paths down the cutting embankment. The station buildings were in Gloucestershire, but the platforms extended inside the Bristol city boundary. No goods facilities were ever provided at Staple Hill, but the station was well-used by commuters to Bristol and north to the factories at Mangotsfield. Services between Bristol and Gloucester were withdrawn on 4 January 1965 and between Bristol and Bath on 7 March 1966, when the station closed. The line through the station was due to close on 3 January 1970, with services between Bristol and Gloucester diverted to the former Great Western Railway route via Filton Junction, but a landslip at Staple Hill a week before closure meant the diversion came into effect early. The route is now part of a cycle path and one of the platforms is still visible.

St John the Baptist is a church in the Frenchay area of Bristol, England.

Frenchay is a village in the County of South Gloucestershire, England, and the Civil Parish of Winterbourne. It is on the outskirts to the north east of the city of Bristol. Frenchay was first recorded in 1257 as Fromscawe and later as Fromeshaw, meaning the wood on the Frome.The village is situated between the B4058 road, which runs parallel to the M32 motorway, and the wooded River Frome valley. Frenchay's largest place of worship is the Anglican Church of St John the Baptist, adjacent to the large village common, which is overlooked by a number of 18th-century houses principally built by wealthy Quaker families. These include the very fine former Rectory, Bradford's House and the adjacent Frenchay Common House. Also overlooking the common is the village school which dates from 1842. The village also contains a Catholic church, a Quaker Meeting House and a Unitarian chapel. Cricket was played on Frenchay Common from early in the nineteenth century, apparently on the initiative of the Wadham family who lived at Frenchay Manor House, owned farms locally at Doynton, Pomfrey, Mangotsfield, Downend and Frenchay, and many of whom are buried in the graveyard of St John the Baptist Church.W.G. Grace, the famous Victorian cricketer, whose family lived in the next village of Downend, was captain of the village cricket team. The Frenchay Cricket Club, which is said to have been the first village club in the county, was established in 1846.Frenchay gives its name to the Frenchay Campus of the University of the West of England, though the campus itself is situated in the neighbouring parish of Stoke Gifford. Frenchay was the home to Frenchay Hospital, greatly expanded during World War II for the US Army, which treated wounded soldiers returning from the D-Day landings in Normandy. Facilities merged with Southmead Hospital, further towards the centre of the city in 2014. A&E services closed on 19 May 2014. The closure of Frenchay Hospital has made way for a new housing development.Frenchay village has much green space, including the common, walks along the River Frome, and a moor owned by The National Trust. The Village Hall is a village hub, and there is an annual village flower show.Frenchay's earliest place of worship was the Quaker Meeting House. The present one dates from 1809, and it replaced an earlier one of 1670. Many Quaker merchants from nearby Bristol made their homes here, including Joseph Storrs Fry, the Quaker chocolate manufacturer, who styled his company J S Fry & Sons, which manufactured the first ever commercially available chocolate bar in the world. He moved to Grove House (now Riverwood House) in 1800. He died in 1835 and is buried in the burying ground behind the Meeting House along with his wife and daughter, Pricilla. John Wadham (1762–1843) of Frenchay Manor House, was from 1789, a co-owner and director of Wadham, Ricketts & Co, later Wadham, Ricketts, Fry & Co, which manufactured Bristol blue glass at the Phoenix Glassworks near Temple Gate, Bristol, examples of which can be seen in Bristol Museum, and was a director of the Bristol Floating Harbour Company in 1820. His son Thomas Wadham (1797–1849) was High Sheriff of Bristol in 1843, the year that Isambard Kingdom Brunel launched his ship SS Great Britain in Bristol Harbour. Thomas Wadham and his son the Rev. John Wadham were active in setting up the Winterbourne National School and his daughters were involved on the school's women's committee. Thomas's son Edward Wadham (1828–1913), Mineral Agent to Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch took his skills as a civil engineer who had worked under Brunel and his love of cricket to Barrow-in-Furness where, from 1851 until his death in 1913, he played an important part in the development of what had been a tiny hamlet into the biggest iron and steel centre in the world, and a major ship-building force, in just forty years.Frenchay Park, an adjacent suburb, is situated within Bristol city limits.

Staple Hill is a suburb of Bristol, England, lying outside the city boundary in South Gloucestershire. It is directly east of Fishponds, south of Downend, west of Mangotsfield and north of Soundwell.

The A4174 is a major ring road in England which runs around the northern and eastern edge of Bristol, mainly in South Gloucestershire, and through the southern suburbs of the city. When it was first conceived it was planned to circle the whole of Bristol, and is commonly referred to as the "Avon Ring Road", or less accurately the "Bristol Ring Road", on road signs. The road does not circle the whole city, instead covering roughly half of the route. It is broken in part where it is concurrent with the A4.

Page Park is a park in the Staple Hill area of South Gloucestershire.In 1910, the park was donated to the people of Staple Hill by Arthur William Page, the same year he was elected Alderman of the county of Gloucestershire.The land on which the park was formed was originally part of the Hill House estate. The road to the east of the park is named Hill House Road. Nineteen acres of land from the estate were set aside for the park. An official opening took place on 14 December 1910. The National Anthem was sung whilst an oak sapling was planted. In the centre of the park stands an impressive pavilion, known locally as the clock tower because of the four-faced clock upon its roof. The clock tower remains to this day and gives its image as the symbol of the park.The park contains other features: a drinking fountain donated in 1912 seating public toilets a band stand donated in 1927, restored in 2013 tennis courts donated in 1929 a tennis pavilion in 1930 bowling green in 1948The park has a selection of sports fields, accommodating football and cricket teams. It was the start and finish place for the Kingswood Festival marathon in 1985.The park is currently undergoing a transformation to become the green heart of Staple Hill. With help from South Gloucestershire Council, the Big Lottery Fund, and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The creation of a new cafe and community spaces are amongst the improvements. The park is the venue for the Big Lunch; a community event designed to bring together the people of Staple Hill with music, children's rides and family entertainment.

Oldbury Court Estate is a park in Fishponds, Bristol, about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of the city centre. It is a park of Bristol City Council, and is listed Grade II in English Heritage's Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest. Its area is 23.33 hectares (57.6 acres); the parkland contains woods and riverside wildlife. The paths along the River Frome form part of the Frome Valley Walkway. There are picnic areas and a children's play park.

Mayfield Park is a residential area in East Bristol, with a large adjoining park known as the Ridgeway Rd Playing Fields.The area is located on the outskirts of the outer urban area of Fishponds and consists mainly of four roads: Mayfield Park, Mayfield Park North, Mayfield Park South and Mayfield Avenue. It is also near the main road of Berkeley Road and the outer urban area with the name of Speedwell, and adjacent to Chester Park. The area has a population of 1,730 (est).

Fishponds is a large suburb in the north-east of the English city of Bristol, about 3 miles (5 km) from the city centre. It has two large Victorian-era parks: Eastville Park and Vassall's Park (once the Vassall Family estate, also known as Oldbury Court). The River Frome runs through both with the Frome Valley Walkway alongside it. A restored mill found at Snuff Mills near the Vassall's Park end of the river has kept its original waterwheel, which can still be seen and heard turning. Eastville Park has a large boating lake with central wildlife reserves. Fishponds is mainly residential. Two main bus routes pass through. Housing is typically terraced Victorian. The high street shops include an international supermarket, Asian food store, charity shops, takeaways and Lidl, Aldi and Morrisons supermarkets. It has a small student population from the presence of the Glenside campus of the University of the West of England. The name Fishponds derives from when it was a quarry district, like nearby Soundwell. The empty quarries became large fishponds, which have since been filled in. One remained until the mid-1970s, when it was officially closed: a popular swimming area named "The Lido" by locals. It now belongs to an angling club.

Frenchay Hospital was a large hospital situated in Frenchay, South Gloucestershire, on the north east outskirts of Bristol, England, which is now closed. In 2014, it contracted to a few brain and head injuries services. It was managed by North Bristol NHS Trust. From April to December 2014, most of Frenchay Hospital was progressively closed, with the majority of services moving to a new building at Southmead Hospital. Accident and Emergency was transferred on 19 May 2014. Child services moved to the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. A few services relating to brain and head injuries remained at the site after December 2014.