Located on Fishponds Road, Eastville Park is a Victorian ‘people’s park’ dating back to the 19th century.
The Bristol City Council purchased the land for the park from Sir Greville Smyth for £30,878 in 1889 and the decision to build the park was derived following the publishing of an 1871 anonymous pamphlet titled ‘A Cry from the Poor: A Letter from Sixteen Working Men to the Sixteen Aldermen of the City’.
The authors of the pamphlet highlighted the need for a ‘people’s park’ in the working-class area of the city and noted that the existing parks at Brandon Hill and on the Clifton Downs were convenient for well-off people who lived nearby, but benefitted less the working-class people in other areas of the city.
Whilst most of the industry’s factories and packed terraced streets were in St Philip’s, Eastville was only a short train or tram journey away.
The park, filled with countryside, was the perfect spot to take a break, breathe fresh air, get healthy exercise and be closer to nature.
At the time, there were gentle walks, a swimming pool and sports areas. One of the most popular features of the park, which remains to date, is a lake. Visitors could hire rowing boats until 1914 and 1923 when the boathouse was burnt down twice.
The swimming pool was destroyed after it was hit by a bomb in World War II. The site is now the Old Swimming Pool Garden.
Nowadays, visitors can also enjoy the fishing lake, two playgrounds, three football pitches, a bookable tennis court and a bowling green among other facilities in the park.
The River Frome borders Eastville Park on the north, and visitors can follow the river via the Frome Valley Walkway to Oldbury Court and Snuff Mills.
Here are 22 photos from our visit to Eastville Park:
21. Table tennis and basketball court
Visitors can enjoy the table tennis tables and basketball next to the community hub and under-15s playground. | adriana amor
22. River Frome
The River Frome borders the park at the north, next to the lake. | adriana amor
23. Poem
A poem found near the lake and is a detail from Millerd’s map of Bristol made in 1673. The poem Reads: "River Frome, Here pleasure attracts both young and old. Some seek the grass, others head for the river. Here cruising or darting fish are caught with a rod. Here the weary relax by bathing. Here the student wanders contemplating the arts. And the joyous lover dotes upon his happy beloved.” | Adriana Amor