Horfield
Horfield
‘The name Horfield is derived from the old English ‘horu’ indicating ‘a muddy stretch of open land.’ The first recorded mention of Horfield was in the Domesday Book in 1086, however the spelling has gone through several changes over the course of time. ‘In Domesday Book it was spelt ‘Horfelle’; when given by Robert Fitzharding to Bristol Abbey it was ‘Horsfield’; and by the reign of Edward I it had become ‘Harfelle.’ (picture history book)
Until the early 19th century Horfield was predominantly a rural and agricultural place. The 1841 tithe map for Horfield shows a parish consisting largely of fields, with a small village centred on the church and the common. This would have been a structure largely unchanged since medieval times. To the North-West of Horfield, on the border with Filton, there used to exist Horfield Wood, which dated back to medieval times. Evidence from tithe maps indicates that Horfield Wood could have been as large as 40 acres prior to an ‘improvement’ programme, which saw much of England’s woodland cut down in the late 18th century. Recent research has shown that the total area of woodland in Horfield amounted to 19 ½ acres in 1841 – as woodland had lost its importance Horfield Wood continued to be cleared so that it no longer exists today. It has been said that travellers in the late 18th century were afraid to cross Horfield by night because the wood could have been a hiding place of hiding for local pickpockets and footpads. However, the extent of the wood at this time casts doubts upon these tales.
‘The name Horfield is derived from the old English ‘horu’ indicating ‘a muddy stretch of open land.’ The first recorded mention of Horfield was in the Domesday Book in 1086, however the spelling has gone through several changes over the course of time. ‘In Domesday Book it was spelt ‘Horfelle’; when given by Robert Fitzharding to Bristol Abbey it was ‘Horsfield’; and by the reign of Edward I it had become ‘Harfelle.’ (picture history book)
Until the early 19th century Horfield was predominantly a rural and agricultural place. The 1841 tithe map for Horfield shows a parish consisting largely of fields, with a small village centred on the church and the common. This would have been a structure largely unchanged since medieval times. To the North-West of Horfield, on the border with Filton, there used to exist Horfield Wood, which dated back to medieval times. Evidence from tithe maps indicates that Horfield Wood could have been as large as 40 acres prior to an ‘improvement’ programme, which saw much of England’s woodland cut down in the late 18th century. Recent research has shown that the total area of woodland in Horfield amounted to 19 ½ acres in 1841 – as woodland had lost its importance Horfield Wood continued to be cleared so that it no longer exists today. It has been said that travellers in the late 18th century were afraid to cross Horfield by night because the wood could have been a hiding place of hiding for local pickpockets and footpads. However, the extent of the wood at this time casts doubts upon these tales.
Early Impressions
Eighteenth century impressions of Horfield and its inhabitants were not very flattering. One historian named Bigland thought that 'Nothing worthy Remark, relating either to Antiquities or Natural History, is found within this Parish'. Furthermore, Goldney a clergyman who visited the parish wrote of the congregation at Horfield, c.1747,‘as negligent, boorish, ignorant, inhospitable, tone-deaf, and ugly.' The poem opposite, reproduced in Joseph Leech’s Rural Rides of the Bristol Churchgoer, describes Horfield as a similarly bleak environment. |
Population Growth and Changes in Horfield
The 1871 Gloucester directory gives the names of the trades and occupations of Horfield residents. The majority were farmers, working the 7 farms bordering the common, which were:
Horfield Downend – Maurice Coonan
Quab Farm –Mrs Hester Cox
Manor Farm –William Cox
Home Farm –John J Melluis
Court Farm –John Neale
Berry Lane Farm – Mrs Mary Rosling
Horfield Downend – William Smith
Apart from the farms there were 6 beer retailers, 3 shopkeepers, a blacksmith and wheelwright, a baker, a laundress and 2 school masters.
Seeing as Horfield was a small agricultural community for much of its history, for many years it had a small population. However, from the mid-19th century the population of Horfield began to expand. The Reverend Fanshawe Bingham, rector at Horfield, published in his Horfield Miscellanea c.1900 estimates of how the population had changed over the 19th century, which he obtained from the Census Office. They are as follows:
1801-119
1811-146
1821-198
1831-328
1841-620
1851-998
1861-1746
1871-1222
1881-2378
1891-2912
1901-6712
There may be some inaccuracies in these figures, but they show how the population of Horfield grew rapidly in the late 19th Century. The first wave of new housing began in the mid-late 19th century and the landscape of Horfield began to change. The population increased in Horfield partly because of the new opportunities the growth of building in the area presented – there were new openings for servants in Horfield households and new business opportunities in the parish. The number of pubs in the area doubled between 1841 and 1851, again indicating increased demand for services in the area, and creating new job opportunities. A grocers shop, a smithy, a plant nursery and a lodging house were all new businesses which were opened and operating in this period. In 1885 an extension of Bristol cities boundaries was proposed, and Horfield was included – the small Gloucestershire village was to become part of Bristol, as we know it today.
The 1871 Gloucester directory gives the names of the trades and occupations of Horfield residents. The majority were farmers, working the 7 farms bordering the common, which were:
Horfield Downend – Maurice Coonan
Quab Farm –Mrs Hester Cox
Manor Farm –William Cox
Home Farm –John J Melluis
Court Farm –John Neale
Berry Lane Farm – Mrs Mary Rosling
Horfield Downend – William Smith
Apart from the farms there were 6 beer retailers, 3 shopkeepers, a blacksmith and wheelwright, a baker, a laundress and 2 school masters.
Seeing as Horfield was a small agricultural community for much of its history, for many years it had a small population. However, from the mid-19th century the population of Horfield began to expand. The Reverend Fanshawe Bingham, rector at Horfield, published in his Horfield Miscellanea c.1900 estimates of how the population had changed over the 19th century, which he obtained from the Census Office. They are as follows:
1801-119
1811-146
1821-198
1831-328
1841-620
1851-998
1861-1746
1871-1222
1881-2378
1891-2912
1901-6712
There may be some inaccuracies in these figures, but they show how the population of Horfield grew rapidly in the late 19th Century. The first wave of new housing began in the mid-late 19th century and the landscape of Horfield began to change. The population increased in Horfield partly because of the new opportunities the growth of building in the area presented – there were new openings for servants in Horfield households and new business opportunities in the parish. The number of pubs in the area doubled between 1841 and 1851, again indicating increased demand for services in the area, and creating new job opportunities. A grocers shop, a smithy, a plant nursery and a lodging house were all new businesses which were opened and operating in this period. In 1885 an extension of Bristol cities boundaries was proposed, and Horfield was included – the small Gloucestershire village was to become part of Bristol, as we know it today.
With thanks to Dennis Wright and the Horfield and Ashley Down Local History Society who's publications have informed much of the history above. In particular:
These publications are available here.
- Wright, D. Population in Horfield 1066-1851. Bishopston, Horfield and Ashley Down Local History Society Research Group Paper 1. Bristol: BHADLHS, November 2005.
- Wright, D. 'Horfield Common' in The Horfield Tithe Survey 1841, by Andy Buchan, John Hyde and Denis Wright. Bishopston, Horfield & Ashley Down Local History Society, Research Group Paper 2. Bristol: BHADLHS, November 2006.
These publications are available here.