St Philip's Marsh facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St Philip's Marsh |
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 Albert Road in St Philip's Marsh, Bristol |
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 St Philip's Marsh
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRISTOL |
| Postcode district | BS |
| Dialling code | 0117 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Avon |
| Ambulance | Great Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
St Philip's Marsh is a busy area in Bristol, England. It's mostly home to businesses and shops. This area is almost like an island because it's surrounded by the River Avon and the Harbour feeder canal.
Today, St Philip's Marsh has a big shopping and fun area called Avonmeads Retail Park. Here you can find a movie theater and a Hollywood Bowl bowling alley. This whole area was greatly updated between 1992 and 2007.
A main road, called a bypass, goes over the River Avon. This road connects the A4 road in south east Bristol to the M32 motorway near the city center.
Long ago, St Philip's Marsh had many homes for people who worked in Bristol's market. This market area is now known as Old Market. A famous person from St Philip's Marsh in the early 1900s was George Townsend. He was important for building many homes in South Bristol. His family home still stands today in the St Anne's area.
Now, there are very few homes in St Philip's Marsh. This means it's often quiet at night. Besides the shopping area, it has just one shop, a pub, a takeaway restaurant, and Sparke Evans Park. Some old churches were once here, like St Davids Welsh Anglican Church. Another, St Silas, was damaged during World War II.
Sparke Evans Park: A Green Space
Sparke Evans Park is a nice green area right by the river. It's not far from the big shopping park. This land was given to the city in 1902 by P.F. Sparke Evans and Jonathan Evans. They owned a local business that made leather.
This park is special because it's one of the few things left from when St Philip's Marsh had many homes. Now that the area is mostly for businesses, not many people use the park. Workers sometimes visit it during their breaks. People from nearby Arno's Vale and Totterdown also use it. There is a bridge that connects these areas to the park.
Inside the park, you can still see a shelter that was built in 1925. It has pretty metal pillars and fancy decorations.
Railways and Train Maintenance
St Philip's Marsh is very close to Bristol Temple Meads railway station. This station is on the important Great Western Main Line. In St Philip's Marsh, there is a special place called St Philip's Marsh depot. This depot is where trains are kept and fixed.
History of the Train Depot
The train depot was first built by the Great Western Railway company. It was used to store and fix steam trains that carried goods. In 1964, steam trains stopped being used there. The depot was then updated to work with diesel trains.
Today, Network Rail owns the depot. It is rented by the train company Great Western Railway. This depot is very important for keeping the InterCity 125 trains running. These fast trains travel between London Paddington, Bristol, and South Wales. Both the powerful Class 43 power cars and the passenger Mark 3 coaches are serviced here.
After some train companies joined together in 2006, St Philip's Marsh depot started fixing more types of trains. It began taking care of diesel trains that carry passengers. Before this, these trains were fixed at a different depot far away. Moving the work to St Philip's Marsh meant these trains didn't have to travel through a very busy tunnel as often.
