Features / history
This small building gives its name to Ashton Gate
The name Ashton Gate is known across the world as the home stadium of Bristol Bears and Bristol City, as well as being the location for events including the upcoming Bristol Legends.
But what was the gate in Ashton that gives the area its name?
A few hundred yards from Ashton Gate Stadium, a small building with a slate roof and overhanging eaves is the reason for this south Bristol neighbourhood’s unusual moniker.
The building on the junction of Coronation Road, North Street and Ashton Road was originally known as the Ashton Gate Toll House, which operated here until 1867.
This former turnpike tollhouse was erected around 1820, replacing a gate that had been destroyed by Somerset farmers in 1749 who were angry at the amount of money they were charged in order to bring their goods into Bristol.
The newly fortified tollhouse was one of dozens erected by the Bristol Turnpike Trust.
Only two other surviving examples of former tollhouses still stand in Bristol; one on the corner of Stapleton Road and Oxford Place in Easton, and the other at the junction of Channell’s Hill Road and Trym Road in Westbury-on-Trym.
Before road maintenance became the responsibility of county councils, turnpike trusts were organisations created by acts of parliament that collected road tolls and used the money to repair the road.
A reminder of the Bristol Turnpike Trust can be found on Cleeve Bridge that crosses the River Frome between Frenchay and Bromley Heath – photo: Martin Booth
Join Martin Booth for a walking tour around some of the historic sites of the Old City and Castle Park. For more information and to book, visit www.yuup.co/experiences/explore-bristol-s-quirkiest-corners
Main photo: Martin Booth
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