::: 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
