User:Trevj/The Chessels

The Chessels is an area of Bedminster, Bristol that runs from the mid section of Luckwell Rd to the White Horse pub on West Street. Chessel Street is the main road. It has a number of streets on either side that are all named after gemstones, including Ruby Street, Pearl Street, Beryl Road, Jasper Street and Garnet Street. At the West Street end Chessel Street also turns off into British Road.

Amenities
At the Luckwell Hill end (between Ashfield Road and Aubrey Road) there is a moderately sized Anglican church, St Aldhelm's (built 1907), which is part of the Bedminster Team Ministry.

Until as recently as 1980 there was a shop on every corner of the entire street - over 10 shops. These included a bakery, general store, sweet shop and newsagent, a cooker and electrical shop, and a dry cleaner. There was also a strange little shop that used to sell bits of almost antique bric-a-brac. The post office counter was closed as part of Post Office Ltd's post office closure plan and the Post Office, the last remaining shop on the road, was transformed into the Bristol Green Store in November 2008. Initially a project run by a small group of local producers, it has now evolved into the Natural Building Store, and the Bristol Green Store project has a section within the shop for local products. The shop also runs a community project called "The Space", for local use of the shop facilities and website, including a food co-op and Freeshare goods recycling.

There is a single primary school in the immediate area, South Street School, being part of Compass Point, which also hosts a Children's Centre. The next nearest primary schools are Luckwell Primary School and Parson Street Primary School. The nearest secondary schools are Ashton Park School and Bedminster Down School.

There are Girl Guide groups in the Chessels, forming part of the Bristol South West Division.

Community activities
In 2011, the church hosted a pop-up restaurant with Bristol chef, Vincent Castellano.

Transport
The area is not directly served by bus services, but is served at either end by services connecting the area to the rest of the city. West Street forms part of the A38, which hosts one of the Greater Bristol Bus Network's showcase routes. The A38 also serves Bristol Airport via the Bristol International Flyer coaches.

The nearest railway station is Parson Street, operated by First Great Western. Services consist of hourly trains calling at stations between Bristol Parkway and Weston-super-Mare. Peak hour services include trains from Cardiff to Taunton.