Georgian House, Bristol

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The Georgian House Museum
Georgianhousebristol.jpg
The Georgian House Museum
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Location within Bristol
General information
Location7 Great George Street, Bristol, England
Coordinates 51°27′14″N2°36′12″W / 51.45391°N 2.60337°W / 51.45391; -2.60337
Year built1788–91
Client John Pinney
Design and construction
Architect William Paty
Website
Official website
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameThe Georgian House, attached front area railings and rear garden walls
Designated8 January 1959
Reference no. 1202244

The Georgian House is a historic house museum at 7 Great George Street in Bristol, England. It was built around 1790 for John Pinney, a wealthy sugar merchant and slave plantation owner, and is now furnished and displayed as a typical English town house of the Georgian period. The museum includes a drawing room, dining room, study, kitchen, laundry and housekeeper's room. There is also a small display on slavery and sugar plantations. The Georgian House has been run by Bristol City Council since it was presented to the city as a museum in 1937.

Contents

The museum is open from 1 April to 31 December on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays from 11am–4pm. It received 32,127 visitors in 2019. [1]

History

The Georgian House is a well-preserved example of a typical late 18th-century English town house, which has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade II* listed building. [2] It was built around 1790 for John Pinney, a sugar merchant and slave plantation owner, and is believed to be the house where the poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge first met. [3] It was also home to the freed slave Frances Coker who was a maid [4] and Pinney's slave, Pero, after whom Pero's Bridge at Bristol Harbour is named. [5]

It contains some of the original furniture and fittings, such as the bureau-bookcase in the study and a rare cold water plunge bath, and has been used as a location for the BBC television series A Respectable Trade , which was adapted from the novel by Philippa Gregory, about the slave trade. [6]

Areas of the house

Film and media

On 5 July 2010, Amanda Vickery filmed scenes for her series At home with the Georgians at the Georgian House. [7]

The 1970s children's drama series The Georgian House was set here. The interior of the house was recreated in studio. [8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ALVA – Association of Leading Visitor Attractions". ALVA. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  2. ↑ "The Georgian House, attached front area railings and rear garden walls". Historic England. Retrieved 14 March 2007.
  3. ↑ "Georgian House". Homes and Gardens. Archived from the original on 6 March 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2007.
  4. ↑ Matthew, H. C. G.; Harrison, B., eds. (23 September 2004), "The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography" , The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. ref:odnb/73299, doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/73299 , retrieved 9 February 2023
  5. ↑ "Bristol's Georgian House". Bristol Museums. Archived from the original on 5 April 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2007.
  6. ↑ Amor, Adriana (30 May 2024). "We visit a slave owner's house to learn what life in 18th century Bristol was like". Bristol World. Retrieved 22 August 2025.
  7. ↑ "Amanda Vickery tweet 5 July 2010" . Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Georgian House (The): Network DVD (liner notes)". www.networkdvd.net. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
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