Fishponds is an outer urban area in the north-east of the English city of Bristol. It is approximately three miles from the City centre. It has two large Victorian era parks; Eastville Park and Vassell's Park (formerly the Vassell's Family estate) and also known locally as Oldbury Court. The River Frome runs through both parks, with the Frome Valley Walkway running alongside it. A restored mill can be found at Snuff Mills near the Vassells Park end of the river. It has retained its original waterwheel which can still be seen and heard turning today. Eastville Park has its own large boating lake with central wildlife reserves. The pedalos are no longer available for hire in the summer months.
The name of this area of Bristol derives from when it was, like nearby Soundwell, a quarry district. The empty quarries were then filled and there were many large fishponds in the area which have since been filled in. There was one pond remaining which was, until the mid 1970s when it was officially closed, a popular swimming area, named "The Lido" by locals. It is now owned by a private angling club.
The outskirts of Fishponds to the south comprise Chester Park and Mayfield Park. Fishponds is bordered by five suburbs: Downend, Staple Hill, St. George, Eastville and Stapleton, and has a population of approx 20,000.[1]
The area of Fishponds was once covered by the Royal Forest of Kingswood. The forest was progressively reduced and developed over the centuries, with Fishponds first recorded as the "Newe Pooles" in 1610, and subsequently "Fish Ponds" by 1734.[6] By the 17th century it was thriving village with numerous stone built cottages for miners and quarrymen who quarried for coal and pennant stone. The village grew up around the two pools formed from the old quarries, but both were filled in by 1839.
