Cribbs Causeway

Cribbs Causeway is a road in South Gloucestershire, England, just north of Bristol, which has given its name to a large out-of-town shopping centre. Cribbs Causeway is situated west of Patchway, although in the civil parish of Almondsbury. The primary access routes are the A4018 from Bristol, the M5 junction 17 and the Patchway bypass road. The Mall is one of the two major shopping centres in the Bristol area, the other being Cabot Circus.

The road runs from the northern edge of Bristol at Henbury to a point just beyond the M5 junction. It now forms parts of the A4018 and B4055. The route is the former Roman road from central Bristol to the crossing point of the River Severn at Aust.

History

The name of the road is often said to owe its name to Tom Cribb, a famous bare-knuckle boxer from the Bristol area. However, this was proved wrong in the 1960s by the discovery of a map showing the current name dated to four years prior to his 1781 birth. The book's author goes on to speculate that the true origin of the name may be from Crybe's dwelling (Crybe being a personal name), or from crib – a manger or hovel. But all that we can truly glean from this is that the causeway - i.e. the Roman road - was named for a family with the surname Cribb (which may or may not have been closely related to the boxer's family: he was from Hanham on the opposite side of Bristol). This local family was probably also commemorated in the smallholding called Crybescroft which existed in Henbury in 1281.

The Hazel Brook rises at Cribbs Causeway, flowing southwards through Blaise Castle estate, before joining the River Trym.

The Venue

The Venue at Cribbs Causeway is an entertainment complex featuring a VUE cinema (formerly an Warner Village Cinema), Hollywood Bowl a ten-pin bowling alley (opened in November 2004, location was previously a Dave & Buster's), Fitness First and eateries, such as Frankie & Benny's, Bella Italia, Chiquito and T.G.I. Friday's.

Other sections

The two retail parks are warehouse style shops with entrances from outside. The first retail park is a group of large shops containing shops such as Argos, Currys, and Comet.

Nearby is a second retail park containing Carpetright, Best Buy, Halfords, Hobbycraft, T.K. Maxx, Easy Living Furniture, Maplin Electronics and Tesco Homeplus.

Other shops include the United Kingdom's first ASDA-Wal-Mart Supercentre, the first Morrisons supermarket in the south of England which opened in September 2003, Wickes, Toys "R" Us, Makro and DFS, also car dealers, warehouses, pubs and hotels. In a lane that passes under the motorway, is the Cribbs Business Centre.

A B&Q; Warehouse is now completed on the site previously owned by Tile World and Magnet. It is situated near the Morrisons supermarket. It also houses a Furniture Village.

The Mall

The Mall, opened on 31 March 1998, comprises 135 shops on two levels, although some of the large stores occupy more levels. The major businesses are Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, W H Smith and Boots. At its centre point The Mall has a large fountain with a water display. Money thrown into the fountain is donated to local charities, the company reports it raises in excess of £10,000 a year for local charities. Above the fountain is the food court.

To celebrate the Mall's ten year anniversary, the company announced a five million pound refurbishment of the food court that will be completed in two stages with completion in May 2009. The food court will be renamed 'The Avenue'.

The primary access routes are the M5 Junction 17 and the Patchway bypass road. The Mall is one of the major shopping centres in the Bristol area, the other being Broadmead, the location of The Mall Bristol and Cabot Circus.

It should not be confused with shopping centres owned by The Mall Fund which are branded as The Mall and then the town or city name, The Mall Bristol is an example of a shopping centre owned by that company.

Transport

The Mall has over 7000 parking spaces spread over a car park that is divided into different sections, and which is free to use.

Bus station

Name	Cribbs CausewayBus Station
Locale	Cribbs Causeway
Borough	South Gloucestershire
Start	1998
Travelcentre	No
Stands	15
Operators	First Bristol, First Somerset & Avon, Wessex Connect
Natexp	No
Railstation	No
Usage	Not known

The station is situated at The Mall and has 15 stands. The main operators that serve the bus station are First (Bristol and Somerset & Avon) and Wessex Connect.

The bus station (the terminal for many bus routes) which is served by a considerable amount of bus services operating in Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Wales.

Buses run from the bus station around the Bristol area and as far afield as Weston Super Mare, Bath and Cwmbran.

Services that call here:

1 - Broomhill

40 40A - Cabot Circus

54 54A - Stockwood

73 73A 73B - Bristol City Centre

75 - Hengrove Depot

319 - Bath

318 - Keynsham

482 483 - Chipping Sodbury

600 - Yatton

622 - Chipping Sodbury

625 - U.W.E - Severn Beach

X14 - Cwmbran/Magor - Bristol bus station

X25 - Weston Super Mare

See also

Broadmead

Cabot Circus

List of bus routes in Bristol

The Mall Bristol

References

External links

Official website of The Mall

Original website of Cribbs Causeway (unofficial)

List of bus and coach services from Cribbs Causeway - Travel Search

Cribbs Causeway a case study - Prupim Developments

Category:South Gloucestershire Category:Buildings and structures in South Gloucestershire Category:Shopping centres in South Gloucestershire Category:Bus stations in England Category:Shopping malls established in 1998