In Saxon and Norman times, Kingswood Forest was a royal hunting estate which surrounded Bristol, extending as far as Filwood in South Bristol. "From early days the Constable of Bristol Castle, the king's officer in the area, was also the Chief Ranger of the Kingswood Forest and the first of these recorded is Ella who died in 920. At the edge of the forest, to the north of the River Froom, lay the little hamlet of Stapleton, the name of which is Saxon in origin, being held to mean 'The farm, homestead or croft – by or near the Stapol, post or pillar'".
Demography
Kingswood and Staple Hill are the only areas that are unparished in South Gloucestershire. Furthermore Kingswood is considered by ONS as part of Bristol, being within its urban subdivision. This means Kingswood isn't recognised as an individual settlement either statistically or administratively, being unparished and part of a larger urban subdivision, parliament constituency and district with all three divisions containing other areas. Hence its population is taken from four ward boundaries in South Gloucestershire. Kingswood is made up of three wards: Woodstock, New Cheltenham and Kingswood Wards These wards had a combined population of 40,734 in 2011, with a largely white British population. Women in Kingswood had the fourth lowest life expectancy at birth, 74.3 years, of any ward in England and Wales in 2016. Geographically, Kingswood is between the M4 to the north, Hanham to the south and includes a small part of Emersons Green, although the area is administered by South Gloucestershire Council.
The Kingswood area first came into industrial prominence in the late 17th century, because of coal mining. Typical of these were coal fields in the Easton and Coalpit Heath/Yate areas. The coal mining history still affects the town with gardens occasionally opening up. The local MP has petitioned in Parliament for full surveys of the coal mines under the town. A recent archaeological excavation of the Wade Street area of Kingswood has uncovered artisans'houses that were established in the early 18th century. These dwellings were demolished as part of a slum clearance project in the mid 20th century.
The Whit Walk
There is an annual procession held on the morning of the Whit Bank Holiday. Its origins are uncertain, but it appears to have taken place at least since 1939. The walk is the subject of an ethnographic study by the English anthropologist Timothy Jenkins.
