Greenbank, Bristol

Bristol & Bath Railway Path

The Bristol & Bath Railway Path forms the north eastern boundary of Greenbank and provides a traffic free route not only the two miles into Bristol, but also 13 miles to Bath along one of the most scenic non-traffic cycle routes in the country. The Path is seen as being a valuable public asset by the people of Greenbank and other adjoining areas, with a 2008 campaign to stop it being used as a bus route garnering much local support. The Path also provides a valuable green haven in the form of a linear park in what is a very densely populated part of Bristol.

Schools

The area is well served with primary schools with Whitehall and May Park both being contiguous to Greenbank proper. The City Academy Bristol is within a few hundred meters down the Railway Path towards Lawrence Hill and Bristol Metropolitan College is only a mile toward Fishponds.

Greenbank Cemetery

In the far eastern corner of the cemetery are the memorials to the civilian dead of the Bristol Blitz of 1941. The area is very moving, with some graves containing the remains of three generations of Bristolians. Nearby lies a separate military cemetery with graves from British and Commonwealth servicemen, the graves of German Luftwaffe crew killed during the Bristol Blitz, and Italian Mariners killed in action.

Greenbank cemetery opened in 1871, was extended less than ten years later and again in 1899. The chapel, designed by Henry Masters, has two sections, one chapel for Anglicans and one for nonconformists.

The cemetery was used as a filming location, including for the Trotter brothers' mother's grave in the last ever episode of Only Fools and Horses.

Buildings

There are a few distinctive buildings within the area:

• The Elizabeth Shaw chocolate factory (famous for its 'Famous Names' and 'Chocolate Crisp' brands)
• Chapel in Greenbank Cemetery
• Greenbank Masjid, occupying a church building formerly used by the Castle Green United Reformed Church. Informally known as the "Lego Church", it was designed by Sir Frank Wills and built in 1902.
• St Anne's Church, the parish church designed by George Oatley and consecrated in 1901

Development of Greenbank Chocolate Factory

Main article: Elizabeth Shaw (confectionery company)

The factory ceased chocolate production in 2006, since when various attempts have been made to secure planning permission and develop the site. In 2013 the factory passed into the hands of the Generator Group. The local community has always been actively interested in any proposals, and began to object in force when they discovered that a plan had been submitted to Bristol City Council on Christmas Eve 2014.

Gallery

File:Elizabeth Shaw Chocolate Factory.jpg|Elizabeth Shaw chocolate factory File:Greenbank Cemetery, Greenbank Road entrance.jpg|Greenbank Road entrance of Greenbank Cemetery File:Castle Green United Reformed Church. - panoramio.jpg|Castle Green United Reformed Church in 2008

References

References

1. (2016). "Easton Ward from May 2016 (map)". Bristol City Council.
2. (24 June 2023). "The abandoned church hidden among residential streets in Bristol". Bristol Post.
3. Churchill, Laura. (7 March 2017). "27 of the best films and TV shows filmed in and around Bristol". Bristol Post.
4. "Cemeteries and crematoria". Bristol City Council.
5. "Stressed or Distressed?". Generator Group.
6. "ChocBox 2.0 community group for the Chocolate Factory, Greenbank". ChocBox 2.0 community group.