National Gazetteer (1868) - Long Ashton

"LONG ASHTON, a parish in the hundred of Hartcliffe-with-Bedminster, in the county of Somerset, 2 miles to the S. W. of Bristol. It is situated in a wooded valley of great beauty, on the river Avon, which separates it from Gloucestershire, and at the foot of the Dundry hills. The village occupies the slope of Ashton Hill, and from the road which passes through it there are charming views of the valley, the river, Bristol, Clifton, and the scattered villages in Gloucestershire. In this parish are comprised the hamlets of Bower-Ashton, Kingcott, Providence, Yanleigh and Rownham. The living is a vicarage* in the diocese of Bath and Wells, value £450, in the patronage of W. G. Langton, Esq., and Sir J. Smyth, Bart.

The church is dedicated to All Saints. It was built in 1390, and contains a very fine canopied tomb, with effigies of Sir Richard Choke and his lady. The tomb is of stone, decorated profusely with Gothic tracery. The chancel is separated from the nave and aisles by a fine screen, carved and gilt. There are charitable endowments amounting to £156 a year, including a sum of £10 bequeathed by Anne Smith, in 1760, for a school, and an additional £4 by John Stanton, in 1822. Ashton Court, the original seat of the Lyons, is an old mansion, with a modern front, extending 143 feet in length. The new front was erected by Inigo Jones. One of the apartments, 90 feet long and 20 broad, is hung with portraits. There are ruins of another mansion, called the Lower Court, near the village.

At the east end of Barrow Common, where the hill terminates abruptly, are the remains of two Roman camps, one called Burwalls, in the form of a triangle, the other Stokeleigh, of an oval form. Roman coins have been frequently dug up in the neighbourhood. Part of the land here is laid out in orchards and fruit gardens, the produce of which is sold in the Bristol market. The Bedminster union house is in this parish.

"BOWER-ASHTON, a hamlet in the parish of Long Ashton, hundred of Hartcliffe, in the county of Somerset, 3 miles to the S.W. of Bristol. It is near the Bristol and Exeter railway. The principal residence is Ashton Court, the seat of Sir J. Smyth, Bart."

"KINGCOTT, a hamlet in the parish of Long Ashton, county Somerset, 2 miles S.W. of Bristol."

"PROVIDENCE, a hamlet in the parish of Long Ashton, county Somerset, 2 miles S.W. of Bristol."

"ROWNHAM, a hamlet in the parish of Long Ashton, county Somerset, 2 miles W. of Bristol."

"YANLEIGH, a hamlet in the parish of Long Ashton, county Somerset, 2 miles S.W. of Bristol."