Bristol City Centre

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Bristol City Centre
Central Business District
Bristol Temple and Redcliffe from the tower of St Stephen (3261563982).jpg
Roofscape of central Bristol
Location map United Kingdom Bristol Central1.png
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Bristol City Centre
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Bristol City Centre
Location within the United Kingdom
Unitary authority
  • Bristol City Council
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BRISTOL
Postcode district BS1, BS8
Dialling code 0117
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
51°27′13″N2°35′29″W / 51.453632°N 2.591341°W / 51.453632; -2.591341

Bristol City Centre is the commercial, cultural and business centre of Bristol, England. It is the area north of the New Cut of the River Avon, bounded by Clifton Wood and Clifton to the north-west, Kingsdown and Cotham to the north, and St Pauls, Lawrence Hill and St Phillip's Marsh to the east. The Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, the BBC, the main campus of the University of Bristol, the Crown and Magistrate's Courts, Temple Meads railway station, Bristol bus station, the Park Street, Broadmead and Cabot Circus shopping areas together with numerous music venues, theatres and restaurants are located in this area. The area consists of the council wards of Central, Hotwells & Harbourside, and part of Lawrence Hill. [1]

Contents

Historic centre

The mediaeval heart of the city was immediately north of Bristol Bridge, between the River Frome and the River Avon, at the High Cross where the four cross streets High Street, Wine Street, Broad Street and Corn Street meet. The traditional view that this was also the Saxon centre was challenged in the 1970s by archaeology suggesting that Bristol's origins lay to the east of High Street in the area that is now Castle Park, but more recent Saxon finds around Small Street favour the earlier view. [2] [3]

This was Bristol's pre-war central shopping district, a knot of ancient narrow streets including Wine Street, Mary le Port Street and Castle Street, which was severely damaged in 1940 during the Bristol Blitz. [4] The area to the north and west of Castle Park, around Broad Street, Corn Street and St Nicholas Market largely survived, and contains many historic buildings.

The Centre

The course of the River Frome, immediately to the west of the historic centre, was covered over in stages, in the second half of the 19th century. The area became the hub of the city's tramway network, and was known as the Tramways Centre. [5] It was so called long after the last trams left in 1941, but is now known simply as The Centre.

Between 1936 and 1938, the Centre was enlarged when more of the River Frome, between Broad Quay and St Augustine's Parade, was covered in, making way for the Inner Circuit Road. [6] The western side of the Inner Circuit Road has since been largely decommissioned, and recent works have rebalanced The Centre in favour of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users. [7]

Broadmead

The area northeast of the historic area, around Broadmead, was redeveloped after the war despite overwhelming public opinion against it, and the streets and shops in Broadmead became the main shopping district of the city. [8] Like many 1950s buildings in Britain, affordable but architecturally uninteresting utilitarian buildings form the bulk of the Broadmead area.

In the 1980s, some of these were demolished to make way for the Galleries shopping centre, which is a three level covered street. In 2008, the shopping area was extended over the central ring road to produce a new shopping centre, Cabot Circus, which opened in September 2008.

Harbourside

The City Docks were immediately south of the Centre. Although most ships used Avonmouth Docks after the Royal Edward Dock was opened in 1908, ocean-going ships were regularly seen at the Centre until the 1960s. In 1972 the Royal Portbury Dock was opened, and the City Docks were closed. The harbour buildings, including the tobacco warehouses, became redundant.

The harbourside has been regenerated in the 1990s and 2000s, with the refurbishment of warehouses as bars, restaurants, the Watershed Media Centre and the Arnolfini art gallery, as well as the creation of the At-Bristol science centre (later rebranded as We the Curious).

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Harbour</span> Harbour in Bristol, England

Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of 70 acres. It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out permanently. A tidal by-pass was dug for 2 miles through the fields of Bedminster for the river, known as the "River Avon New Cut", "New Cut", or simply "The Cut". It is often called the Floating Harbour as the water level remains constant and it is not affected by the state of the tide on the river in the Avon Gorge, The New Cut or the natural river southeast of Temple Meads to its source.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Frome, Bristol</span> River in south west England

The Frome, historically the Froom, is a river that rises in Dodington Park, South Gloucestershire and flows southwesterly through Bristol to join the river Avon. It is approximately 20 miles (32 km) long, and the mean flow at Frenchay is 60 cubic feet per second (1.7 m3/s). The name Frome is shared with several other rivers in South West England and means 'fair, fine, brisk'. The river is known locally in east Bristol as the Danny.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadmead</span> Area of Bristol, England

Broadmead is a street in the central area of Bristol, England, which has given its name to the principal shopping district of the city. It is part of Bristol Shopping Quarter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buildings and architecture of Bristol</span>

Bristol, the largest city in South West England, has an eclectic combination of architectural styles, ranging from the medieval to 20th century brutalism and beyond. During the mid-19th century, Bristol Byzantine, an architectural style unique to the city, was developed, and several examples have survived.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabot, Bristol (former ward)</span> Human settlement in England

Cabot was a council ward that covered the centre of Bristol, England. It took its name from the Cabot Tower, a memorial tower on Brandon Hill that was built to commemorate John Cabot's voyage and "discovery" of North America. The ward was abolished in 2016.

Sea Mills is a suburb of Bristol, England, 3.5 miles (6 km) north-west of the city centre, between the former villages of Shirehampton, Westbury-on-Trym and Stoke Bishop, by the mouth of the River Trym where it joins the River Avon. Sea Mills was part of the city ward of Kingsweston. Following a Local Government Boundary Commission review in 2015, ward boundaries were redrawn and Sea Mills is now split between the Stoke Bishop ward and the Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston ward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parks of Bristol</span>

The English city of Bristol has a number of parks and public open spaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Park, Bristol</span>

Castle Park is a public open space in Bristol, England, managed by Bristol City Council. It is bounded by the Floating Harbour and Castle Street to the south, Lower Castle Street to the east, and Broad Weir, Newgate and Wine Street to the north. Its western boundary is less obviously defined and has been the subject of controversy, perhaps because the area around High Street and St Mary le Port Church, though not part of the park and always intended for development, is often considered at the same time as the park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Castle</span> Former Norman castle in Bristol

Bristol Castle was a Norman castle built for the defence of Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port. Built during the reign of William the Conqueror, and later owned by Robert FitzHamon, it became an important royal castle and was the scene of several imprisonments and executions. The castle was modified and further fortified between the 12th and 13th centuries under Robert of Gloucester and King Henry III. By the 16th century it was mostly neglected; it was torn down in 1656 under orders from Oliver Cromwell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hotwells</span> Human settlement in England

Hotwells is a district of the English port city of Bristol. It is located to the south of and below the high ground of Clifton, and directly to the north of the Floating Harbour. The southern entrance to the Avon Gorge, which connects the docks to the sea, lies at the western end of Hotwells. The eastern end of the area is at the roundabout where Jacobs Well Road meets Hotwell Road. Hotwells is split between the city wards of Clifton, and Hotwells and Harbourside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristol Bridge</span> Historic bridge in United Kingdom

Bristol Bridge is a bridge over the floating harbour in Bristol, England. The floating harbour was constructed on the original course of the River Avon, and there has been a bridge on the site since long before the harbour was created by impounding the river in 1809. The current bridge was completed in 1768 and is a Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underfall Yard</span> Boatyard in Bristol with mechanism for maintaining water and silt levels in the harbour

The Underfall Yard is a historic boatyard on Spike Island serving Bristol Harbour in England.

Kingsweston was a ward of the city of Bristol. The three districts in the ward were Coombe Dingle, Lawrence Weston and Sea Mills. The ward takes its name from the old district of Kings Weston, now generally considered part of Lawrence Weston. Following a Local Government Boundary Commission review in 2015 ward boundaries were redrawn and Kingsweston ward is now split between the Stoke Bishop ward and the Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston ward.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corn Street, Bristol</span> Street in the centre of Bristol, England

Corn Street, together with Broad Street, Wine Street and High Street, is one of the four cross streets which met at the Bristol High Cross, the heart of Bristol, England when it was a walled medieval town. From this crossroads Corn Street and its later extension Clare Street runs downhill approximately 325m south-westwards to The Centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Jude's, Bristol</span> Human settlement in England

St Jude's is a mixed residential, commercial and light industrial area of central Bristol, England. St Jude's forms part of the Lawrence Hill ward of Bristol City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Centre, Bristol</span> Open space in Bristol, England, UK

The Centre is a public open space in the central area of Bristol, England, created by covering over the River Frome. The northern end of The Centre, known as Magpie Park, is skirted on its western edge by Colston Avenue; the southern end is a larger paved area bounded by St Augustine's Parade to the west, Broad Quay the east, and St Augustine's Reach to the south, and bisected by the 2016 extension of Baldwin Street. The Centre is managed by Bristol City Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">20th century road schemes in Bristol</span>

Road building was central to planning policy for much of the 20th century in Bristol, England. The planned road network evolved over time but at its core was a network of concentric ring roads and high-capacity radial roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary le Port Street, Bristol</span>

Mary le Port Street was an important thoroughfare from an early stage in the development of the settlement of Bristol, England, linking the area around St Peters Church and, later, Bristol Castle with the Saxon core of the town to the west at High Street, Wine Street, Corn Street and Broad Street. It was heavily damaged by aerial bombing in 1940, and was relegated to an unnamed service road and footway in post-war reconstruction of the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Street, Bristol</span> Street in central Bristol, England

High Street, together with Wine Street, Broad Street and Corn Street, is one of the four cross streets which met at the carfax, later the site of the Bristol High Cross, the heart of Bristol, England when it was a walled medieval town. From this crossroads High Street runs downhill south-east to Bristol Bridge, a distance of approximately 155m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wine Street, Bristol</span> Major street in Bristol, UK

Wine Street, together with High Street, Broad Street and Corn Street, is one of the four cross streets which met at the Bristol High Cross, the heart of Bristol, England when it was a walled mediaeval town. From this crossroads Wine Street runs along a level ridge approximately 175m north-eastwards to the top of Union Street.

References

  1. "Bristol Local Plan". Bristol City Council. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  2. Watts, Lorna; Rahtz, Philip (1985). Mary-le-Port Bristol Excavations 1962/3. City of Bristol Museums and Art Gallery. ISBN   0-900199-26-1.
  3. Foyle, Andrew (2004). "Introduction". Pevsner Architectural Guides: Bristol . Yale University Press. ISBN   0-300-10442-1.
  4. Hasegawa, Junichi (1992). "6 Replanning the city centre: Bristol 1940-45". Replanning the blitzed city centre. Open University Press. ISBN   0-335-15633-9.
  5. Appleby, John B (1969). Bristol's Trams Remembered. J.B. Appleby.
  6. Winstone, Reece (1983). "plates 30, 31". Bristol as it Was 1939-1914. Reece Winstone. ISBN   0-900814-54-3.
  7. "New Bristol city centre road layout opens to traffic". BBC News. 2 April 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  8. Hasegawa, Junichi (1992). "7 City planning in the immediate aftermath of war: 1946". Replanning the blitzed city centre. Open University Press. ISBN   0-335-15633-9.