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Coordinates: 51°31'46?N 2°34'09?W? / ?51.5293, -2.5692
Filton is a town in South Gloucestershire in south west England, on the northern outskirts of the city of Bristol, about 4.5 miles from the city centre. Filton lies in Bristol postcode areas BS7 and BS34. The town centres upon Filton Church, which dates back to the 12th century and is a grade II listed building.[1] Further north are the towns of Patchway and Bradley Stoke.
The name of the town comes from the Old English feleþe (hay), and tun (farm, field). The name dates back to at least 1187.
Filton is fortunate in having large areas of open space, which includes several playing fields, a golf course and a large airfield, Bristol-Filton.
[edit] Districts
Districts within the town include Filton Park and Northville. East Filton, which has grown up east of the Bristol-South Wales railway line, contains the offices of the Ministry of Defence Defence Procurement Agency, plus a shopping park.
Filton can be reached from junction 1 of the M32 motorway, or from junction 16 of the M5 motorway. The town has a medium sized railway station, Filton Abbey Wood.
Filton has an aerospace connection dating back to the early days of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. Aerospace companies in Filton include BAE Systems, Airbus, Rolls-Royce and MBDA factories, all located around Filton Aerodrome. On 26 November 2003, Concorde 216 (G-BOAF)[2][3] made the final ever Concorde flight, returning to Filton to be kept there permanently as the centrepiece of a projected air museum. This museum will include the existing Bristol Aero Collection which is kept at Kemble Airport, 33 miles (53 km from Filton. This collection includes a Bristol Britannia aircraft.
Other companies and organizations include the MOD, Viridor, Hewlett Packard, Royal Mail and Farmfoods have a presence in Filton.
Filton's educational facilities include Filton College, Filton High School and several primary schools. The University of the West of England is at nearby Frenchay.
Filton has two main shopping areas - the Shield Centre (on the site of the former Shield Laundry) and Abbey Wood Retail Park, as well as other shops. To the east of the town there is a small area of woodland known as Splatt's Abbey Wood.
Bristol Cars is a manufacturer of hand-built luxury cars, based in Filton. Bristol Cars has no distributors nor dealers and deals directly with customers; they have a showroom in Kensington in London. They claim to be the last wholly British-owned luxury car builder.
[edit] Administration
Part of the Ministry of Defence Defence Procurement Agency) building at Abbey Wood, Filton. The site employs over 4000 people, managing procurement contracts for the Navy, the Army and the Air Force
[edit] National
Filton is represented in the UK Parliament by Steve Webb MP, MP for the constituency of Northavon - but this will change to Filton and Bradley Stoke in the UK General election of 2009 or 2010.
[edit] County
Filton was in Gloucestershire until 1974 when it became part of the newly formed county of Avon. In 1996 the Avon authority was abolished and the area became part of the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire.
Filton Town Council [4] provides local services.
[edit] History
At the dawn of the 20th century, Filton was a small village, still detached from the city of Bristol to the south. Farming was the principal occupation. However, there was a large factory-like laundry in the village, opposite Filton House, owned by Samuel Shield.
The Bristol to South Wales railway line passed through the village. There was a small station near the site of the current Abbey Wood Station. A much larger railway station, known as Filton Junction, opened in 1910, after the rail route from Bristol to London was finished.
In 1907 the northern terminus for Bristol Tramways was moved out from Horfield to Filton. Tram production in the tramway sheds commenced in 1908. The manufacture of aeroplanes started in the Bristol Tramway sheds in 1910. Aeroengine production started in 1920.
Between the wars Filton expanded rapidly, to become a suburb of Bristol. Terraced and semi-detached housing, in small estates on both sides of the A38 trunk road, was built. Eventually, Filton became part of the Bristol conurbation, although it remained outside the city boundary.
The A38 trunk road was widened from Filton Church down to (and along) Gypsy Patch Lane. Because many of the aircraft workers cycled to and from work, cycle tracks were installed along the widened highway.
During the 1930s, two infant/primary schools and one secondary school were built in Filton to accommodate the growing number of school-age children in the area. Many of these children were evacuated when WWII started in 1939, but returned later, during the Phoney War.
Filton High School, originally a grammar school, but now a comprehensive, started to take pupils in 1960.
During the mid-1970s the A38 trunk road was upgraded to a dual carriageway. Station Road, a country lane in the early part of the 20th century, was also widened to become a dual carriageway and form part of the Avon Ring Road.
Sandwiched between roads, factories, railway lines and the aerodrome, Filton expanded little after WWII. However, from the late 1970s a trading estate slowly developed on the eastern side of the Bristol/South Wales railway line in what is now known as East Filton. Later, the Ministry of Defence set up a large office complex, known as Abbey Wood, in the same area.
[edit] Aviation
The manufacture of aeroplanes started in the Bristol Tramway sheds in 1910, when Sir George White, the owner of Bristol Tramways, established the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company. A small 'flying ground' was set up opposite Fairlawn Avenue in 1911.
The Company grew rapidly during WWI, building thousands of Bristol Fighters and other aircraft. In 1915, as the aircraft works expanded over the original 'flying ground', the Royal Flying Corps established Filton Aerodrome in fields at the bottom of Filton Hill.
Aeroengine production started north of Filton Aerodrome, with the acquisition of Cosmos Engineering in 1920. In the same year, the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company became the Bristol Aeroplane Company.
The re-armament programme from 1935 to the outbreak of WWII, saw further expansion of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. East Works on Gypsy Patch Lane and Rodney Works along Gloucester Road North were established for the production of aeroengines.
Anti-aircraft guns were set-up in a field pasture on Filton Hill, adjacent to Filton Golf Club, to defend the aircraft factories.
Prior to WWII there was a belief that German bombers had insufficient range to reach Filton, however, the invasion of France by the Nazis in 1940 changed the situation. On September 25, 1940, German aircraft, based in France, raided Filton, causing extensive damage to the aircraft factories, as well as causing a heavy loss of life when several air raid shelters were hit. Shortly afterwards, a squadron of Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft was stationed at Filton Aerodrome, to defend the area.
Aircraft produced during WWII included the Blenheim, Beaufort, Beaufighter and Brigand. Filton Aerodrome was upgraded to a concrete runway during 1941/42. Prior to D-Day, a number of US aircraft, imported into the UK via Avonmouth docks, were assembled at Filton Airfield.
After WW2, the concrete runway at Filton Aerodrome was extended westwards to enable the huge Bristol Brabazon airliner to take-off safely. This extension required demolition of the small hamlet of Charlton. A large three bay hangar was also built to accommodate the Brabazon project. At the time, the hangar doors were the largest in the world, as was the railway level crossing leading to the main runway.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s, BAC branched out into the development and production of pre-fabricated buildings, plastics, helicopters, guided weapons, luxury cars, gas turbines and ramjet motors. The Bristol Britannia (Whispering Giant) airliner and Bristol Freighter were produced.
BAC opened a technical college for apprentices and trainees at the bottom of Filton Hill in 1954. This was eventually absorbed by Filton (Technical) College, that had opened on the opposite side of Filton Avenue in 1961.
In 1958 the aero engine interests of the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Armstrong Siddeley were amalgamated to form Bristol Siddeley Engines. Rolls-Royce purchased Bristol Siddeley Engines in 1966. On February 4, 1971 Rolls-Royce were declared bankrupt due to the burden of development of the RB211 engine for the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar jetliner. Due to the importance of Rolls-Royce engine division the Government nationalised the company. (Note that Frederick Corfield MP for the Constitiuency, was then Minister for Aviation, and presumably had influence over what was an unusual decision for a Conservative administration). In 1973 the Rolls-Royce car division was separated as Rolls-Royce Motors. Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited (the engine division) was privatised in 1987 as Rolls-Royce plc.
The 1960s and 1970s saw the development and production of Concorde at Filton and a further extension of the Filton runway. Because of jet blast, gates and traffic lights were installed to close off the A38 when Concorde took off.
The aircraft interests of BAC are now owned by Airbus and BAE Systems, whilst the aero engine facilities are part of Rolls-Royce. MBDA owns the guided weapons facilities. Bristol Cars are still produced at the Filton site. The production of helicopters, pre-fabricated buildings and plastics has long since ceased.
Next to the A38 road, Airbus UK purchased 26 acres of the former Rodney Works from BAE Systems with a view to erect new factory buildings. New office accommodation was also to be erected on the old 1910 BCAC site. Although both sites have now been cleared, the planned development has been delayed, because Airbus wishes to offload the development/manufacture of composite wings for the A350XWB (intended for Filton) to another contractor. It now looks likely that GKN will take over part of the Filton site to undertake this work, whilst Airbus will continue wing design work on an adjacent site.
Part of the original Airbus redevelopment plan was for Filton House and New Filton House (both listed buildings) to be refurbished. New Filton House was shrouded in protective polythene in August 2006, to reduce detioration of the structure.
[edit] Filton Park
Filton Park is a district within the town of Filton, South Gloucestershire, which is a suburb of Bristol, England. Filton Park lies directly on the city border, sandwiched between the A38 trunk road and Southmead Road. Filton itself lies to the north and east of Filton Park. Monks Park is to the south.
Housing in Filton Park is mainly privately owned, semi-detached and 1930s built. Pre-WWI properties in the district tend to be quite large, with generous gardens. Extensive playing fields border the north-western side of Southmead Road. The golf links, on the hillside beyond, are owned by Filton Golf Club. The area has a primary school and a playgroup.
Filton Park is regarded as a desirable place to live since it is close to major centres of employment such BAE Systems, and the Ministry of Defence at Abbey Wood.
[edit] Twin towns
- The Bristol Academy of Sport is based at Filton College.
- Filton Cycling Speedway Club was formed in January 2006 [5].
- St Vallier FC (named after its French twin) is a youth football (soccer) team.[6].
- Filton Golf Club has an 18 hole course [7]
- There is also a table tennis club [8]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
(Source: Wikipedia) |