About Henleaze
Overview
Henleaze is a northern suburb of the city of Bristol in South West England. It is an almost entirely residential inter-war development, with streets of Edwardian houses on its southern fringes. Pockets of 1970s housing are also present, including to the east of Northumbria Drive (replacing former “prefabs”) and in the north of the area, opposite Old Quarry Park, Henleaze Road (on the site of the former Royal School for the Blind). In the 1980s further properties were built in Remenham Drive, Remenham Park and Brean Down Avenue. In the 1990s new properties were built at Golden Hill.
History
The name of Henleaze probably derives from Robert Henley. In 1659 he bought a property that became known as Henley’s House and later as Henleaze Park. The area was a rural part of the parish of Westbury-on-Trym until 1896, when land between Henleaze Road and Durdham Downs was sold for housing. Most of the rest of the area was developed in the 1920s.
Detailed information about the history and evolution of Henleaze can be found in the following publications:
- Henleaze, Our Place Character Appraisal: This document is available to download and is described in our Achievements page.
- The Henleaze Book: A second edition of The Henleaze Book, written by Veronica Bowerman, gives a fascinating glimpse into the history of Henleaze as seen through the eyes of many of our residents. The book sets out how land was once used and how the area has changed over the years to become a thriving community of houses, shops and businesses. Copies of the book are on sale at Max Minerva’s, 47 Henleaze Road.
- The Henleaze Lake Story: Since 1919 Henleaze Swimming Club has provided a haven of solitude at Henleaze Lake for those who enjoy freshwater swimming, springboard or high diving, sunbathing or simply a quiet rest in the open air. On its centenary, in 2019, the club published a celebratory book documenting its history. For more information see henleazeswimmingclub.org
- Henleaze Heritage Trails: To explore Henleaze on foot, or by bicycle, this downloadable leaflet (pdf., opens in new tab) gives routes to follow. Prepared by Veronica Bowerman, with support from The Henleaze Society, the trails take you past a number of key landmarks and buildings and provide interesting snippets of information about each of them.
The Crescent, Covid-19 update: Between March and October 2020 the residents of the community in and around The Crescent combined to write a collection of lockdown stories. The downloadable publication The Crescent, Covid-19, October 2020 (pdf., opens in new tab).
Local Facilities
On Henleaze Road, there is a range of small shops (including a Post Office) that cover most everyday needs. A public library, cinema and supermarket are a short distance away, on Northumbria Drive. A busy NHS Medical Centre can be found on Fallodon Way and dental, optical and other medical services are all located on or within walking distance of the main Henleaze Road shopping area. There are also shops on North View and at Wellington Hill West, and a further supermarket on Lime Trees Road.
The Henleaze area is well served with schools and churches. The churches have halls and rooms which can be hired for community use, and which also serve as venues for concerts, plays and local group meetings. Children’s play areas are at Fallodon Way and Old Quarry Park. The Downs, a huge area of protected parkland, starts in Henleaze.
Statistical profile
Annually Bristol City Council issues a Statistical Profile for each of its wards, detailing population, social care indicators, education and crime statistics etc. Here is the April 2023 update
Buses
The main buses serving Henleaze are First Bus routes 2, 2a and Y6.
In addition, First Bus route 1 and Stagecoach routes 10, 11, 13 and 505 serve parts of Henleaze.
Useful information (including routes and timetables) can be found at:
- Travelwest – journey planning made easy
- firstgroup.com/bristol-bath-and-west
- https://www.stagecoachbus.com/timetable
Henleaze Forum
Anyone interested in matters concerning Henleaze is welcome to attend meetings of the Henleaze Forum. More details, and notes from the meetings can be found on this website by following the link to Henleaze Forum.
Police
As with other Bristol wards, Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze has a Neighbourhood Beat Team. PC Stephen Harding (Beat Manager) and PCSO Azeem Wazir, who are based at Southmead Police Station, are the current Beat Team members.
Political representatives
Henleaze is within the constituency of Bristol North West. The Member of Parliament is Darren Jones.
Until 2016 Henleaze was a ward of Bristol City Council; it has since been amalgamated with neighbouring Westbury-on-Trym, to become Westbury-on-Trym & Henleaze ward. The three Councillors currently serving the ward are Geoff Gollop, Sharon Scott and Steve Smith.