View source for Catbrain

{{Short description|Village in South Gloucestershire, England}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Coord|51.5225|-2.61274|format=dms|display=title}}
{{Location map
| Bristol
| lat = 51.5225| long = -2.61274
| label = Catbrain Hill| caption = Catbrain Hill, Bristol
}}

'''Catbrain Hill''', simply known as '''Catbrain''', is a small village in [[South Gloucestershire]], England, part of the suburban [[North Fringe of Bristol]]. It is located near [[Cribbs Causeway]], on a road that contains many car dealerships. A new [[housing estate]] has been recently constructed at Catbrain, with more developments nearby underway as of 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.strongvox.co.uk/development/laurelhill/ |title=Laurel Hill |publisher=Strongvox |accessdate=2021-01-08 }}</ref> At the bottom of the hill lies the runway of the former [[Bristol Filton Airport]].

The area belongs to the postcode area BS10.<ref>[http://bristol.streetmapof.co.uk/catbrain-hill/  bristol.streetmapof.co.uk] ''Google Maps'' [Retrieved 22 December 2011]</ref>

==Name history==
"Cat's brain" is a common name for fields in the south of England. It comes from the Middle English "Cattes Brazen", referring to a rough clay mix used in soil at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cork |first=Tristan |date=2017-11-25 |title=Where the name Catbrain Hill came from |url=http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/history/name-catbrain-hill-came-825247 |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=Bristol Post |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Roberts |first=Alice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dyUvEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT101 |title=Ancestors: A prehistory of Britain in seven burials |date=2021-05-27 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4711-8803-9 |page=101 |language=en}}</ref> There are other Catbrains in Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire and Surrey. Catbrain has frequently been noted on lists of [[Place names considered unusual|unusual place names]], within the UK and beyond.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=29zh3dIgmv8C&pg=PR9|title=Welcome to Horneytown, North Carolina, Population: 15: An insider's guide to 201 of the world's weirdest and wildest places|publisher=Adams Media|author=Parker, Quentin|year=2010|pages=ix|isbn=9781440507397}}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Shaw |first=Neil |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/map-shows-funniest-place-names-19454625 |title=Map shows some of funniest place names in UK you could visit in 2021 |work=Wales Online |date=2020-12-14 |accessdate=2021-01-08 }}</ref>

==Hazel Brook==
The [[Hazel Brook]] rises in nearby Cribbs Causeway and its flow into the [[River Trym]] is controlled by an attenuation reservoir at Catbrain, which reduces the silt flowing into the system from the many shopping malls in the area.<ref name=monitoring>{{cite web
|url=http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Environment-Planning/Pollution/bristol-living-rivers--watercourses.en?page=3
|title=Waterways Monitoring: River Trym and Hazel Brook
|publisher=Bristol City Council
|accessdate=24 November 2009
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520045642/http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/content/Environment-Planning/Pollution/bristol-living-rivers--watercourses.en?page=3
|archive-date=20 May 2011
|url-status=dead
}}</ref> Measurements of pollution by the city council are made monthly.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&ll=51.463846999999994%2C-2.5797270000000094&spn=0.190364%2C0.44014&t=h&z=11&mid=1Ia9tyxgZiw-VvZEaQ6rZVLZ3DRA |title=Bristol City Council River Monitoring Locations |author=Bristol City Council |accessdate=2021-01-08 }}</ref>

==See also==
[[River Trym#Hydrology|Catbrain attenuation reservoir]]

==References==
{{Commons category|Catbrain}}
{{reflist}}

{{South Gloucestershire}}

[[Category:Villages in South Gloucestershire District]]
[[Category:Areas of Bristol]]