vast numbers of local men were employed throughout the 18th century. In the 1890s, the mines produced a thousand tons per day. Famous people Frances Milton, the mother of Anthony Trollope was born in the village in 1780, and Sarah Young, the mother of Thomas Chatterton was also born there. The Indian social reformer Ram Mohan Roy died at Beech House, the home of Lant Carpenter, nursed by his daughter Mary in 1833. Roy had paid a brief visit to the House. The village grew steadily; in the 1871 census there were 6,960 inhabitants and by 1901 that had risen to 21,236. Sport In 1863 a cricket club was formed, its most famous player being Dr. William Gilbert Grace who played for Gloucestershire and England. At Purdown a football team called the Black Arabs were to become Bristol Rovers. (Purdown is reputedly haunted by the ghost of a Duchess of Beaufort who was struck by lightning, though many believe she died in a horse riding accident.) Transport Also in the 19th century, two lines of the Great Western Railway were built through the area, meeting at Stapleton Road railway station which was opened on 8 September 1863. Tramways were also built, horse drawn at first, but then electric - they reached Fishponds in 1897. The village of Stapleton lies along the B4058 road but is now bypassed by the M32 motorway that runs to the West and North of the village. Junction 2 of this motorway is just south of the village and provides convenient access to the M4 and M5 motorways, respectively four and seven kilometres from the junction. This has helped provide rapid access to Cardiff and Newport in South Wales, the M4 Corridor towards London and the Birmingham area. Buildings Stapleton Church History There has been a Church on this site for at least 500 years. The original dedication was to St. Giles, but between 1691 and 1720 the old Church was demolished and a new one, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, erected in its place. In 1854 the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, Bishop Monk, whose official residence was what is now Colston's School, offered to rebuild the Church at his own cost, desiring “my fellow parishioners to understand that my motives in this work are to remove the source of dispute and contention for pews, caused by the inadequate size of the Church, and to