Winterbourne, Gloucestershire

Winterbourne was recorded in the Domesday Book as Wintreborne, meaning 'Winter Stream'.{{ISBN|0-19-852758-6}} Oxford Dictionary of British Place Names The village is believed to have derived its name from the nearby Bradley Brook, as much of medieval Winterbourne was originally built up around St Michael's Church, which stands near the river.

The modern village is largely built on top of a hill, with woodlands and fields encompassing its urban features. The River Frome flows through a valley between the village and nearby Frampton Cotterell, continuing on towards Frenchay, and eventually draining via Mylne's Culvert, into the tidal Bristol Avon New Cut, to the east of what is now Gaol Ferry Bridge. The Bradley Brook divides Winterbourne from Bradley Stoke and Stoke Gifford to the west, before flowing into the Frome at Hambrook. Since the 1960s, the M4 motorway has bypassed the village to the southwest.

File:Huckford Viaduct 2.jpg and Frome Valley from Cloisters]]

File:Pond at Winterbourne, Somerset, England.jpg

The Huckford Viaduct carries the Great Western Railway over the River Frome. Beneath the viaduct is the abandoned Huckford Quarry, a public nature reserve. Winterbourne is known for its large duck pond,{{fact|date=September 2022}} which overlooks the Frome Valley and is a common spot for fishing and feeding the ducks and swans.{{fact|date=September 2022}}

The parish church is St Michael's, a building dating from the 12th century, which celebrated its 800th anniversary in 1998. St Michael's sits amid fields, flanked by cottages, with its prominent spire visible for miles around. At the altar is a stone depiction of the Last Supper, based on the painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Winterbourne Court Farm Barn is immediately adjacent to the church. This is a Grade II* listed 14th century tithe barn and is an outstanding example of its type.{{fact|date=September 2022}}

Winterbourne has a number of pubs including the George and Dragon, the Swan and the Mason's Arms. In recent years,{{when?|date=September 2022}} a number of the village's pubs have become restaurants; two of which now serve Indian cuisine. The village has three social hubs: St Michael's Rooms, Fromeside Community Centre and Greenfield, which host clubs, functions and other public events. Salem, the local Methodist church, is in Watley's End.

File:winterbourne main street arp.jpg

Winterbourne contains branches of the Co-op and Tesco Express, a chemist, optician, a handful of dental practices and a library. Other village amenities include a bakery, butcher and a Post Office serving the community. Horses and cattle are a common sight in the fields, including in the Cloisters area, which has views of the Frome Valley and the Huckford Viaduct.

An electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches from Winterbourne in the north west to Hambrook in the southeast. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census was 6,994.{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/winterbourne-e05002074#sthash.ZbFBHM95.dpbs|title=ward population 2011|access-date= 21 March 2015}}

Winterbourne contains several schools. The main primary schools are Elm Park and St Michael's, with most students going on to attend the nearby secondary school, Winterbourne Academy, originally named The Ridings High School when formally opened by Tony Benn in 1957. Silverhill School and Day Nursery is an independent preparatory school for children aged 6 months to 11 years. St Michael's was founded in 1813 by the abolitionists and educational reformers, Hannah More and William Wilberforce. The original school was located upstairs in the George and Dragon pub. Larger rooms were then provided in Bourne House, where the school remained until a permanent building was erected on the High Street. St Michael's present location on Linden Close was opened in 1970.Winterbourne Family History Online, [http://www.frenchaymuseumarchives.co.uk/Archives/Schools/St_Michaels_Register_1966-70.rtf St Michael's School Admission Register 1966–1970] – Accessed 14 August 2006.

St Michael's alumna, J. K. Rowling,Winterbourne Family History Online, [http://www.frenchaymuseumarchives.co.uk/Archives/Schools/St_Michaels_Register_1966-70.rtf St Michael’s School Admission Register 1966–1970] – Rowling listed as admission No.305. Accessed 14 August 2006. is reputed to have based much of her character, Albus Dumbledore, on Alfred Dunn, who was headmaster during her studies.Winterbourne, South Gloucestershire Community Information and Magazine, [http://www.winterbourne.freeuk.com/dumbledore.html Winterbourne, Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore!]. Accessed 8 August 2009.

• Arthur Austen-Leigh, vicar and cricketer, was Rector of Winterbourne from 1875 to 1890;{{Cite web|url=http://www.winterbourne.freeuk.com/chaustenleigh.html|title=The Life and Times of Arthur Henry Austen|work=Winterbourne|accessdate=23 September 2018}} he lived in Winterbourne with his children, including writer Lois Austen-Leigh
• Tim Bowles, politician and first Mayor of the West of England.{{cite web|title=Cllr Tim Bowles|url=https://www.bsgconservatives.com/people/cllr-tim-bowles|publisher=Bristol and South Gloucestershire Conservatives|access-date=6 May 2017}}
• James Bracey, Gloucestershire and England cricketer.{{Cite news |date=2023-07-18 |title=James Bracey: Wicketkeeper to stay with Gloucestershire until 2025 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66231636 |access-date=2025-02-06 |work=BBC Sport |language=en-GB}}
• Edward Colston, merchant, slave trader and Member of Parliament, is believed to have spent much of his childhood in Winterbourne.[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Colston,_Edward_(DNB00) Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 11, Colston, Edward] Author: William Hunt. Accessed 28 February 2017.
• Joe Fry, racing driver, was born in Winterbourne in 1915.
• Harry Grindell Matthews, inventor, was born in Winterbourne in 1880. His childhood home was located at what is now The Grove Residential Home for the Elderly on the High Street where there is a blue plaque commemorating this link.
• Dan Norris, MP and second Mayor of the West of England.{{cite web |url=https://votedan.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/MANIFESTO-FINAL-compressed.pdf |title=Ambition for the West of England |publisher=Labour Party |year=2021 |access-date=18 July 2021}}
• J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, lived in Winterbourne until she was nine years old.[http://www.frenchaymuseumarchives.co.uk/Archives/Schools/St_Michaels_Register_1966-70.rtf St Michael's School Admission Register 1966–1970] – Rowling listed as admission No.305. Accessed 14 August 2006. Potter's surname originated from some of her friends in the village.{{cite web|url=http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2005/0705-edinburgh-ITVcubreporters.htm|title=Edinburgh "cub reporter" press conference, ITV, 16 July 2005|work=Quick Quotes Quill|access-date =29 June 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070106162805/http://www.quick-quote-quill.org/articles/2005/0705-edinburgh-itvcubreporters.htm |archive-date=6 January 2007 }}

Winterbourne has a Non-League football club Winterbourne United F.C. who play at Parkside Avenue and a popular village cricket club that fields 5 senior sides - Winterbourne CC - who share the same ground. Winterbourne Down Border Morris performs during the year at events such as wassailing, and especially on Boxing Day when they perform a Mummers play.{{Cite web|url=http://www.winterbourndownbordermorris.co.uk/|title=Winterbourne Down Border Morris}}

{{Geographic location

|title = Neighbouring town, villages, and hamlets

|Northwest = Gaunt's Earthcott

|North = Latteridge

|Northeast = Frampton Cotterell

|West = Bradley Stoke

|Centre = Winterbourne

|East = Henfield

|Southwest = Hambrook

|South = Winterbourne Down

|Southeast = Downend

}}

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{{Commons category|Winterbourne, Gloucestershire}}

• [http://www.winterbourne.freeuk.com Introduction to Winterbourne]

{{South Gloucestershire}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Villages in South Gloucestershire District

Category:Civil parishes in Gloucestershire