| Christmas Steps | |
|---|---|
 Looking down Christmas Steps | |
  Christmas Steps Location within Bristol | |
| OS grid reference | ST586731 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRISTOL |
| Postcode district | BS |
| Dialling code | 0117 |
| Police | Avon and Somerset |
| Fire | Avon |
| Ambulance | South Western |
Christmas Steps is a historic street in the city centre of Bristol, England.
The name comes from the medieval Knifesmith Street. [1] In Middle English the 'K' in 'knife' and 'knight' was sounded. It seems likely "Knifesmith Street" became corrupted over time to "Christmas Street". In William Worcestre's 1480 itinerary of Bristol, he describes it as "knyfesmythstrete aliter [alias] Cristmastrete". [2] The street continued to be recorded as "Christmas Street" in the official town rentals of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. [3] This is also how it is recorded in the Hearth Tax Books of Bristol in the 1660s. [4] Christmas Street still runs from St John's Gate to St Bartholomew's Hospital at the bottom of "Christmas Steps". The end near the hospital is now bisected by the widened Rupert Street and the very end part, in front of St Bartholomew's, is pedestrianised. In 1480, Worcestre described the road now called "Christmas Steps" as "Stypstrete" (Steep Street) it being "the road on the west side of the church of St Bartholomew of Bristol, going to St Michael's Church". [5]
According to the late-17th-century stone plaque at the top of the steps, the street was renamed "Queene Streete" during the mayoralty of Sir Robert Yeamans (1669/70) after it was "steppered down" by the wine merchant, Jonathan Blackwell. [6] A Bristol chronicle of c.1687 confirms that "Jonathan Blackwell, vintner, new made the stepps on St Michael's Hill, and finished it in 1669, at his own costs, being called by the name of Queen-street". [7] The claim is repeated in an 18th-century Bristol chronicle: "Jonathan Blackwell Vintner new erected and built Saint Michaels Hill steps at his own costs and called it by the name of Queen Street". [8] It is unclear from these statements whether the street had steps before 1669 since "new made" and "new erected" can refer to both an entirely new building work and the renovation of an existing one. [9]
In the 17th century, Christmas Steps were sometimes referred to as Lunsford's Stairs. [10] This was in honour of a Cavalier officer Colonel Henry Lunsford, who was shot through the heart on Steep Street on 26 July 1643 while taking part in the Storming of Bristol during the English Civil War. [11]
The steps are labelled "Queene Str" in the 1673 Millerd Map of Bristol [12] and the updated 1728 version of Millerd's map. [13] The Rocque Map of 1743 labels the steps "Queen Str. or Stipe Str." [14] The alternative name he provides suggests that some people continued to call the steps by the old name of "Steep Street". The steps were described as "Queen Str Steps" on the 1824 Ashmead map of Bristol and "Queen Street" on the 1874 Ashmead Map. [15] However, by the time of the official town plans of Bristol (1879–88), as well as the first Ordnance Survey maps of the late nineteenth century, the street is described as "Christmas Steps". [15] It seems likely that this represented the formal adoption of a popular local name for the steps.
After the main set of steps, the steps continue on the other side of Colston Street (1870) and then again across Perry Road (1868), leading to St Michael on the Mount Without. These steps were originally unbroken by the 2 roads and known as St. Michael's steps (on the 1855 G. C. Ashmead map). [15]
The steep-slanted steps were new made in September 1669 and were paid for by wealthy wine merchant, Jonathan Blackwell. [6] At the top of the steps, the stairs are flanked by stone alcoves, similar in design to the stone alcove seats found in many churches. These were presumably to allow people to rest on the long climb up to St Michael's. The steps and the alcoves were rebuilt between 1865 and 1881. They are classified as are Grade II listed buildings by Historic England. [16]
Christmas Steps are now home to a variety of small shops, galleries, cafes and bars, also known as "Christmas Steps Arts Quarter". [17]
The listed buildings on the steps include:
Pinner is a suburb in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, England, 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 38,698 in 2021.
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Clifton Hill House is a Grade I listed Palladian villa in the Clifton area of Bristol, England. It was the first hall of residence for women in south-west England in 1909 due to the efforts of May Staveley. It is still used as a hall of residence by the University of Bristol.
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Henleaze is a northern suburb of the city of Bristol in South West England.
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There are 100 Grade I listed buildings in Bristol, England according to Bristol City Council. The register includes many structures which for convenience are grouped together in the list below.
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There are 212 Grade II* listed buildings in Bristol, England.
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The Grade I listed buildings in Somerset, England, demonstrate the history and diversity of its architecture. The ceremonial county of Somerset consists of a non-metropolitan county, administered by Somerset County Council, which is divided into five districts, and two unitary authorities. The districts of Somerset are West Somerset, South Somerset, Taunton Deane, Mendip and Sedgemoor. The two administratively independent unitary authorities, which were established on 1 April 1996 following the breakup of the county of Avon, are North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset. These unitary authorities include areas that were once part of Somerset before the creation of Avon in 1974.
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Berkeley Crescent is a late 18th-century crescent of six Georgian houses with a private communal garden.
