Cotham, Bristol


Cotham is a suburb of Bristol, England, about 1 mile north of the city centre. It is also the name of a council ward of the city, which also includes other areas.

The suburb

Cotham is an affluent, leafy inner suburb of Bristol, England, situated between Clifton and St Pauls, and similar in character to Redland.
It is a cosmopolitan residential area with large old houses, many of which are used as hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation, or divided into flats, and a selection of small independent shops. It also contains the comprehensive Cotham School.
The top of Saint Michael's Hill in Cotham was one of the historical city limits of Bristol, and the traditional location for hangings. Between 1555 and 1557 three Marian martyrs were burned to death here for their religious beliefs. The gallows form one quarter of the badge of the local Rugby club, Cotham Park RFC.
Cotham Church was built in 1842–43 by William Butterfield in a Gothic Revival style, as Highbury Congregational Chapel. It was Butterfield's first commission, obtained through his family's connection with William Day Wills of the tobacco firm W. D. & H. O. Wills. The apse, tower, south transept and school were added in 1863 by Edward William Godwin. Since 1975 it has been an Anglican church.

Electoral ward

The Cotham ward comprises Cotham, Kingsdown, and a large part of Redland. This follows extensive changes in 2016, when Kingsdown and more parts of Redland were added to the ward.
According to the Census of 2011, the then ward had a resident population of 12,554.

Politics

Cotham is part of the parliamentary constituency of Bristol West. Since 2015 the Member of Parliament is Thangam Debbonaire, a Labour party member.
Cotham is represented by two councillors on Bristol City Council. Currently, these are Anthony Negus a Liberal Democrat and Cleo Lake, a Green Party member.

Schools

Cotham is home to two different schools: Cotham School and Cotham Gardens Primary School