Bitton is a village and civil parish of South Gloucestershire in England, to the east of the Greater Bristol area on the River Boyd .
42-481: It is in South Gloucestershire . The parish of Bitton has a population of 9,307, and apart from the village itself, includes Swineford , Upton Cheyney , Beach, Oldland Common , North Common and part of Willsbridge . An electoral ward with the same name exists. This ward does not cover as much of the outskirts of Bristol as the parish. The total population of the ward taken at the 2011 census
84-553: A lieutenant with the wider county from which they had been created. London had instead a commission of lieutenancy , headed by the Lord Mayor . The long-standing practice of appointing lieutenants jointly to the wider county and any counties corporate it contained was formalised by the Militia Act 1882. Apart from the inclusion of the counties corporate, the counties for the purposes of lieutenancy generally corresponded to
126-412: A new non-metropolitan county is created the 1997 Act is amended to redefine the existing areas of the lieutenancies in terms of the new areas. No such amendment was made in 1997 when Rutland was made a unitary authority or in 1998 when Herefordshire and Worcestershire were re-established; those three therefore have been given their own lieutenants again since the passing of the 1997 Act. The actual areas of
168-494: Is 3,509. The A431 road runs through the village. Beyond Bitton the road routes north-west to Willsbridge and south-east to Kelston . The heritage Avon Valley Railway is based at Bitton railway station . The National Cycle Network Bristol and Bath Railway Path runs alongside the railway. Bus Routes 19, 37, 441, 443 and 684 run down the A431 and go towards Bath and Bristol City Centres and suburbs. Bitton A.F.C. are
210-426: Is a rural area, Borough is an urban area. Ceremonial county Ceremonial counties , formally known as counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies , are areas of England to which lord-lieutenants are appointed. They are one of the two main legal definitions of the counties of England in modern usage, the other being the counties for the purposes of local government legislation. A lord-lieutenant
252-663: Is the monarch 's representative in an area. Shrieval counties have the same boundaries and serve a similar purpose, being the areas to which high sheriffs are appointed. High sheriffs are the monarch's judicial representative in an area. The ceremonial counties are defined in the Lieutenancies Act 1997 , and the shrieval counties in the Sheriffs Act 1887 . Both are defined as groups of local government counties. The historic counties of England were originally used as areas for administering justice and organising
294-598: Is the national average. In 2005, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer recognised the City of Bristol's ties to science and technology by naming it one of six "science cities", and promising funding for further development of science in the city, with a £300 million science park planned at Emersons Green , in South Gloucestershire. The area is served by BBC West and ITV West Country broadcasting from
336-620: The A38 and M32 ) and to Bath , as well as westward to South Wales and Cardiff via the two Severn bridges . The M5 and M4 motorways provide access to Gloucester and London. Bristol's northern and eastern ring road, the A4174 , passes through South Gloucestershire. The Metrobus express bus network extends from Bristol into South Gloucestershire, and is supported by the district council. The area also has an important and well used railway network, with many direct routes to towns and cities across
378-585: The Courts Act 1971 which abolished the quarter sessions and assizes . Sheriffs continued to be appointed for each county despite the loss of the judicial functions. Certain towns and cities were counties corporate appointing their own sheriffs. The counties corporate were all included in a wider county for lieutenancy purposes, except the City of London which had its own lieutenants. The geographical counties were relatively stable between 1889 and 1965. There were occasional boundary changes, notably following
420-582: The Greater Bristol urban area surrounding the city of Bristol . South Gloucestershire was created in 1996 to replace the Northavon district of the abolished county of Avon . It is separate from Gloucestershire County Council , but is part of the ceremonial county and shares Gloucestershire's Lord Lieutenant (the Sovereign's representative to the county). Because of its history as part of
462-510: The Lieutenancies Act 1997 . When Herefordshire, Rutland and Worcestershire were re-established as local government counties in 1997 and 1998 no amendment was made to the 1997 Act regarding them, allowing them to also serve as their own lieutenancy areas. The lieutenancy counties have not changed in area since 1998, although the definitions of which local government counties are included in each lieutenancy have been amended to reflect new unitary authorities being created since 1997. In legislation
SECTION 10
#1732780951569504-691: The Local Government Act 1894 which said that parishes and districts were no longer allowed to straddle county boundaries. After that most boundary changes were primarily to accommodate urban areas which were growing across county boundaries, such as when Caversham was transferred from Oxfordshire to Berkshire as a result of being absorbed into the County Borough of Reading in 1911. The lieutenancies and judicial / shrieval counties were defined as groups of administrative counties and county boroughs, and so were automatically adjusted if
546-465: The Mendip TV transmitter. Radio stations for the area are: The River Severn forms the north-western edge of the area, with a wide coastal plain terminated by an escarpment. East of this is the wide River Frome Valley drainage area. Further east is another escarpment running roughly north–south, passing between Yate and Chipping Sodbury and west of Pucklechurch. The Cotswolds Escarpment forms
588-445: The militia , overseen by a sheriff . From Tudor times onwards a lord-lieutenant was appointed to oversee the militia, taking some of the sheriff's functions. Certain towns and cities were counties corporate , which gave them the right to appoint their own sheriffs and hold their own courts. Whilst in theory the counties corporate could have had separate lieutenants appointed for them, in practice all of them except London shared
630-662: The City of London, which has two sheriffs ). The Lieutenancies Act 1997 defines counties for the purposes of lieutenancies in terms of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties (created by the Local Government Act 1972 , as amended) as well as Greater London and the Isles of Scilly (which lie outside the 1972 Act's system). Although the term is not used in the act, these counties are sometimes known as "ceremonial counties". The counties are defined in Schedule 1, paragraphs 2–5 as amended (in 2009, 2019 and 2023). Generally, each time
672-667: The M4/M5 Almondsbury Interchange . Employers with sites in this area include EE and the RAC . South Gloucestershire is home to 99 primary schools, 16 secondary schools, and post-16 colleges and centres. There is one university, the University of the West of England , which was a former polytechnic. In 2008, DCSF figures revealed that there was a 6.6% overall absence in the district's secondary schools, whilst 7.4%
714-523: The Parish of Bitton , 1881. 51°25′29″N 2°27′36″W / 51.424802°N 2.460038°W / 51.424802; -2.460038 South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire , South West England . Towns in the area include Yate , Chipping Sodbury , Kingswood , Thornbury , Filton , Patchway and Bradley Stoke . The southern part of its area falls within
756-589: The UK to return to a Committee System , abolishing the single party Cabinet, as allowed under the Localism Act . This was later reverted to a leader and cabinet system in 2017 during the Conservative majority. For Westminster elections, the area is covered by three constituencies , all lying within the authority boundary. These are: County/Borough is a legal term denoting the type of constituency. County
798-641: The UK. This includes eastward to London and westward through the Severn Tunnel to Cardiff and the rest of South Wales. There are also routes to the South-West counties and north to England's second city, Birmingham . Many routes cross in Stoke Gifford at Bristol Parkway station . There are six stations within the district, mainly located near the border with Bristol in the west of the district. The Conservatives held an overall majority on
840-484: The area that now forms South Gloucestershire formed part of the shire county of Gloucestershire , comprising the urban districts of Kingswood and Mangotsfield and the Rural Districts of Warmley , Sodbury and Thornbury . However, under the terms of that act, the area was removed from Gloucestershire, and became part of the county of Avon , forming the districts of Kingswood and Northavon . In 1996,
882-456: The boundaries of those administrative areas changed. There were two exceptions to this rule (one only briefly). The county borough of Great Yarmouth straddled Norfolk and Suffolk for judicial and lieutenancy purposes until 1891 when it was placed entirely in Norfolk for those purposes. The county borough of Stockport straddled Cheshire and Lancashire for judicial and lieutenancy purposes - it
SECTION 20
#1732780951569924-488: The ceremonial counties have not changed since 1998. These are the 48 counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies in England, as currently defined: After the creation of county councils in 1889, there were counties for judicial and shrieval purposes, counties for lieutenancy purposes, and administrative counties and county boroughs for the purposes of local government. The 1888 Act used the term 'entire county' to refer to
966-548: The council from 2015 until 2023; previously no party had overall control, except for 1999–2003 when the Liberal Democrats had a majority. After the 2023 elections, Labour and the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition which took control of the council, this being Labour's first time in control and the Liberal Democrats for the first time in twenty years. In 2012, it became one of the first authorities in
1008-482: The county councils. In counties where the quarter sessions had been held separately for different parts of the county, such as the Parts of Lincolnshire , each part was given its own county council. The area administered by a county council was called an administrative county . As such, some of the judicial or lieutenancy counties comprised several administrative counties and county boroughs. The Ordnance Survey adopted
1050-531: The county of Avon was abolished, and South Gloucestershire was created as a unitary authority area comprising the former districts of Kingswood and Northavon. The area borders the city and county of Bristol , the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority area, and the shire counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The geographic area currently known as South Gloucestershire should not be confused with Southern Gloucestershire. Nor should organisations or bodies in
1092-400: The county of Avon, South Gloucestershire works closely with the other unitary authorities that took over when that county was abolished, including shared services such as Avon Fire and Rescue Service and Avon and Somerset Police , together with co-operation in planning strategy for transport, roads and housing. Prior to the implementation of the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974,
1134-571: The eastern edge of South Gloucestershire, while the western half is mainly urbanised. A small part of the Cotswolds and the National Trust site of Dyrham Park are also in the district. South of the motorways are suburbs of Bristol while areas north are rural. Some of the inner green belts have been taken away by developments like the new town of Bradley Stoke. Many areas of South Gloucestershire have easy commuting access to Bristol (via
1176-432: The group of administrative counties and county boroughs created within each judicial county. The Ordnance Survey used the term 'geographical county' to refer to this wider definition of the county. Yorkshire had three lieutenancies, one for each riding, but was a single judicial county with one sheriff, and was counted as one geographical county by Ordnance Survey. The counties lost their judicial functions in 1972 under
1218-639: The heavily developed area between the northern edge of Bristol and the M5 motorway , an area sometimes described as the North Fringe of Bristol . This includes the Cribbs Causeway shopping centre , comprising The Mall regional shopping centre and the surrounding retail parks. East of Patchway are the Aztec West and Almondsbury business parks either side of the A38 , extending to Bradley Stoke and
1260-555: The inventor of the Ellacombe apparatus used for bell-ringing, was curate from 1817 to 1835, and vicar from 1835 to 1850. His son H. N. Ellacombe , vicar from 1850 to 1916, was active in the 1860s in the distribution of the robust, large, early-flowering snowdrop Galanthus nivalis 'Atkinsii' " that grew at the south wall in his garden in Bitton. " Bitton is the birthplace of author Dick King Smith and actress Richenda Carey , and
1302-435: The judicial counties. The exception was Yorkshire, which was one judicial county, having a single Sheriff of Yorkshire , but from 1660 onwards each of Yorkshire's three ridings had its own lieutenant. In 1889 elected county councils were established under the Local Government Act 1888 , taking over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions . Certain towns and cities were made county boroughs , independent from
Bitton - Misplaced Pages Continue
1344-482: The lieutenancy areas are described as 'counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'; the informal term 'ceremonial county' has come into usage for such areas, appearing in parliamentary debates as early as 1996. The shrieval counties are defined by the Sheriffs Act 1887 as amended, in a similar way to the lieutenancies defined by the Lieutenancies Act 1997. Each has a high sheriff appointed (except
1386-403: The lieutenants were appointed to the new versions of the counties. The counties of Avon , Cleveland and Humberside , each of which had only been created in 1974, were all abolished in 1996. They were divided into unitary authorities ; legally these are also non-metropolitan counties. As part of these reforms, it was decided to define counties for the purposes of lieutenancy differently from
1428-661: The local authority with 9,500 people and the Ministry of Defence Headquarters for Defence Procurement and the Naval Support Command with 7,000 employees. Other key employers include Airbus , Rolls-Royce and the Royal Mail , which dominates the Filton - Patchway area of South Gloucestershire. Friends Provident and Hewlett-Packard also have major offices in nearby Stoke Gifford . Many employers operate in
1470-558: The local football team and Bitton CC are the local cricket team. They both play at the Recreation Ground, immediately south of the A431, just west of the village. Bitton Road Runners is a running club based in the east of Bristol which caters for all running abilities. Founded in 1986 to help people better enjoy the sport of running, it is a thriving club with over 300 members in both junior and senior sections. H. T. Ellacombe ,
1512-533: The local government counties in some cases, effectively reverting to the pre-1974 arrangements for lieutenancies. Whereas the lieutenancies had been defined slightly differently from the shrieval counties prior to 1974, it was decided in 1996 that the high sheriffs and lieutenants should be appointed to the same areas. Regulations amending the Sheriffs Act 1887 and specifying the areas for the appointment of lieutenants were accordingly brought in with effect from 1 April 1996. The regulations were then consolidated into
1554-428: The main functions of the counties were the administrative functions of local government. Despite the loss of their functions, sheriffs continued to be appointed to the former judicial counties up until 1974. In 1974, administrative counties and county boroughs were abolished, and a new system of metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties was introduced instead. Sheriffs were renamed 'high sheriffs' and both they and
1596-421: The past titled 'South Gloucestershire' (meaning Southern Gloucestershire) be confused with the area covered by the unitary authority. At the 2001 census , the population of South Gloucestershire was 245,641. At the 2011 census, the population had increased to 262,767. At the 2021 census , the population estimate for South Gloucestershire is 290,400. According to the 2001 census estimates, 97.6 percent of
1638-510: The population was described as white, 0.8 percent as dual heritage, 0.7 percent as Asian or Asian British, 0.4 percent as Black or Black British and 0.5 percent as Chinese or other. Much of the population is in towns that form the 'suburbs' to the north and east of Bristol. There are also the large towns of Yate and its neighbour Chipping Sodbury , Thornbury , the large villages of Winterbourne and Frampton Cotterell , Wickwar , Alveston , Olveston and Tockington . The main employers are
1680-580: The term 'geographical county' to describe the widest definition of the county. In most cases this was the lieutenancy county; the exceptions were Yorkshire, where the judicial county was larger on account of it being split into its three ridings for lieutenancy purposes, and the County of London where the administrative county was larger on account of the City of London and the rest of the county being separate for both judicial and lieutenancy purposes. The counties lost their judicial functions in 1972, after which
1722-557: Was home to television presenter Noel Edmonds . Also Harold Crofton Sleigh the founder of H.C.Sleigh Shipping Company & Golden Fleece Petroleum Company , Melbourne , Australia , lived in Belmont House with his parents, in 1881. The landscape and equestrian painter Allen Culpepper Sealy was born in the village in 1850. Ellacombe, Henry Thomas History of the Manor of Bitton , 1869. Ellacombe, Henry Thomas History of
Bitton - Misplaced Pages Continue
1764-575: Was placed entirely in Lancashire for judicial purposes in 1956 but continued to straddle the two counties for lieutenancy purposes until 1974. More significant changes to the geographical counties were made in 1965 with the creation of Greater London and of Huntingdon and Peterborough , which resulted in the abolition of the offices of Lord Lieutenant of Middlesex , Lord Lieutenant of the County of London , and Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdonshire and
#568431