::: stapleton rd – potted history

once a gateway community and the main route from bristol to gloucester

staged the siege of the old city wall by cromwell’s infantry in the 1600s and in the 1700s experienced growth around the coal mines supplying fuel to the growing brass, copper, glass, sugar, pottery and distilling industries

stapleton road had a turnpike gate erected to collect a toll from travellers to pay for repair to the roads

: the miners staged a rebellion and burned down the gates outside what is now the three blackbirds

baptist mills (on the edge of stapleton road) is viewed by many as the birthplace of the industrial revolution

at the beginning of the nineteenth century, 70 % of the local population were migrants who had moved to the area in search of work

the river frome was central to the growth of industry along stapleton road

to the annoyance of the church of england, most spiritual practice was within non-conformist churches

a wesleyan chapel was erected in 1837 only to be demolished in 1971 for the construction of the m32 roundabout

in the late 1880s, stapleton road was a shopping centre reputed to be one of the most varied shopping thoroughfares in the city

today, stapleton road is still a community of migrants and entrepreneurs making it one of the most interesting and diverse shopping streets in bristol