The Stoke Park Estate Bristol

The Dower house #Stoke Park Estate Bristol

While the country was in lockdown, I was able to spend time exploring the Stoke Park Estate which is within walking distance of my house. The familiar yellow castle which I can see from my bedroom window is one of Bristol’s most familiar landmarks. If you look to the left, you can see it from the M32 as you enter the city from the east.

The Stoke Park Dower House

I have lived in the area for most of my life and actually worked at Stoke Park hospital for a couple of years. Even so, I learnt a few new things while researching this post.

The Berkeley family who built Berkeley castle in Gloucestershire owned the land around Stoke Park.  In 1338 they gained possession of the manor of Stoke Gifford which included Filton, Stapleton, Downend and Kingswood.   Richard Berkeley built a hunting lodge high on the hill so he could look over his hunting ground in 1562. In 1736 the estate was inherited by Norborne Berkeley who rebuilt the house in the strawberry gothic style. ( I had to look up strawberry gothic.)

Strawberry Gothic was a style made popular by Hugh Walpole the first British prime minister which combined elements of castle and cathedral architecture to create medieval looking buildings without a medieval shell.  Named after his house in Strawberry Hill London, it was supposed to combine “gloomth” inside with “riant” outside in other words darkness and light.

Norborne Berkeley invested much of his fortune in William Champion’s brass works in Warmley and when Champion went bankrupt, Norborne fled to America and eventually became governor of Virginia. The house passed to his sister Elizabeth Beaufort the Dowager Duchess of Berkeley and was known as the Dower house.   His niece Elizabeth was killed in a riding accident when she was only 18 and her ghost is said to haunt the terraces.

Monument to Elizabeth Berkley #Stoke Park Estate
Monument to Elizabeth Berkeley who was killed in a riding accident

Stoke Park hospital

In 1909 the house was sold to the Reverend Harold Burden who together with his wife Catherine converted it into a hospital for children with mental health issues and learning disabilities. When I worked there in the 1990s some of the children  were still there. I went to a ninetieth birthday party for a lady who had spent eighty years in the hospital including living in the Dower house as a child.  This hospital was closed in 1996 and the house has been converted into upmarket apartments

The history of the Stoke Park landscape.

‘The importance of this distinctive landscape was overlooked until the 1980s when garden historians recognised Stoke Park as the largest surviving example of the work of Thomas Wright (1711-86) – a ‘polymath’ now considered a leading 18th century landscape gardener.  Thomas Wright is an interesting figure who is credited with recognising that the shape of the Milky way is an optical illusion due to looking at a flat plane of stars a long way off.

Wright’s design consisted of sweeping vistas, carriageways and paths which would lead visitors past tunnels, tombs and temples. He incorporated three areas of woodland, Barn wood, Long Wood and Hermitage wood, and two large ponds. The largest which is really a small lake is known as Duchess Pond and is popular with anglers and water birds. The woods may look natural but if you look closely, you will find lots of evidence of design from the meandering paths to tunnels and bridges.

Reeds fringe the lake #Stoke Park
Reeds fringe Duchess pond

After the hospital closed the estate became very overgrown. In 2012 it was acquired by Bristol City council who plan to reinstate the 18th century landscape and have opened it as a park for the public to enjoy.

Wright could not have known that the pastoral quietude of his design would be destroyed by the M32 motorway which bisects the bottom of the park but visitors can still enjoy woodland walks and sweeping grassland. From the top, you can experience panoramic views over Bristol and if the wind blows in the right direction it is a favourite place to watch the balloon fiesta. It is popular with dog walkers.

Interested visitors might find the remains of an iron age camp or spot the telltale lines of the medieval field system. Pillow mounds can be found in parts of the park. These are man-made rabbit warrens consisting of artificial tunnels and burrows to encourage rabbits to populate the area so they could be caught as food. Visitors can still see rabbits in the park.

Purdown

The top part of the estate is known as Purdown. Visitors might be suprised to find a large number of five foot high concrete slabs covered in graffiti. These are the remains of a 2nd world war anti aircraft gun battery. There is a local myth that there was a big gun known as Purdown Percy which helped to keep Bristol safe during the Bristol blitz Old photos show that there were smaller guns in use. In fact the gunners only managed two shoot down two German aircraft but they were able to break up aircraft formations.

graffiti  covered concrete. The remains of old gun batteries Purdown
The Concrete gun battery has been covered with graffiti

During lockdown regular park maintenance was halted and instead six goats were hired to clear the area round the gun battery. They are doing a very good job of clearing the ivy and brambles and are a big hit with visitors.

goats chewing the long grass
Goats at work

You should also look out for the 230 feet tall iconic BT telecoms tower and for  wildflowers and fungi in the woods and meadows.

Practicalities

The estate is free to enter but has no car park or toilets. The city council suggest that visitors use the carpark, tea kiosk and toilets at Snuff mills which is about 5 minutes walk away.  Bristol city council have mapped out a series of walks for visitors which can be downloaded here.

A path through the trees #Stoke Park estate
A path through the woods

. If you want to find out more about the history of the hospital visit the nearby Glenside Museum. Steve England runs a very active Facebook group. Members share photos of the wildlife and flora of the park and are happy to answer any questions. Steve also leads regular history and wildlife walks in the park.

The number 48A bus passes the lower gates.

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7 responses to “The Stoke Park Estate Bristol”

  1. I listened to Open Country on BBC Radio Four this morning and finally learned about this place that I had looked up at from the motorway on many an occasion. I found your piece really interesting as it filled in the information “missing” from the programme. I plan to visit when the weather improves – it’s a shame about the traffic noise, though.

    • Thanks for your comment. I enjoyed the programme as well. It does get very muddy at this time of year but is lovely in the summer.

  2. Fascinating history and what a beautiful place for walks. Thanks, Anne, for sharing your knowledge and photos.

  3. Fascinating history. I’m particularly amazed that one woman had lived there for 80 years. I hope she wasn’t moved to allow the hospital to be closed. That would have been distressing for her.

  4. What a beautiful park, and quite the eye-opener when you learn more about it. I also know of Berkeley castle but haven’t been there either, and hadn’t a clue the area around Stoke Park is owned by the same Berkeleys. You mentioning the Balloon festival made me remember that I’d seen the posters for the Cheltenham balloon fiesta going up two months ago and that’ll be another thing sadly to be cancelled for the summer I imagine. I’d love to check out the estate one day, especially for those sweeping views of Bristol. Enjoy the refreshing walks & stay safe 🌷
    Caz xx