Attractions in Bristol - West Country

Featured attractions

3D Gallery

Located close to the heart of Bristol city centre, this gallery has a good reputation for exhibiting some of the finest collections of art that are to be seen in this area of the country. Carrying an eclectic collection...

[ Add a review of 3D Gallery ]

@Bristol

A huge bronze beetle guards the entrance to Wildwalk, part of Bristol’s award-winning family attraction. Hands-on discovery is the keynote of @Bristol. Child-friendly interactive exhibits focus on the animal kingdom in Wildwalk and science and technology in Explore. Walk through...

[ Add a review of @Bristol ] [ See reviews of @Bristol ]

	Latest Bristol Review
		Bristol is a city brimming with character and lots of history. The Clifton area is arguably the most desirable part of the city and where you'll find Bristol Zoo, the Observatory and Brunel's Clifton Suspension Bridge, but - for other areas of interest such as Bristol's maritime history - you'll need to head to Hotwells. Here you can have a relaxing drink or lunch in one of the waterside pubs before taking in the SS Great Britain which is well worth a visit. For the shops... [ Read full review ] - Paul
		[ Click here to add your own review ]

Abbey Gatehouse

Once Britain was dotted with monasteries, each enclosed behind high walls with strong gates. The bigger the abbey, the more magnificent its gatehouse would be. Bristol has one of the few survivals. It once led into the courtyard of the...

[ Add a review of Abbey Gatehouse ]

Acton Court

This house was built for the pleasure of Henry VIII when he visited this area of the world. Designed by Nicholas Poyntz, one of the most eminent architects of his time, this is a beautifully conserved example of a...

[ Add a review of Acton Court ]

Arcade, The

Shopping malls are nothing new. It all began with the first shopping arcade in late eighteenth-century Paris. A covered pedestrian alley provided comfortable, stylish and safe shopping away from the dirt and clatter of the street, not to mention the...

[ Add a review of Arcade, The ]

Architecture Centre, The

Anyone fascinated by buildings should feel at home here. The Bristol Centre for the Advancement of Architecture was founded in 1996. An 18th-century warehouse beside the Floating Harbour was converted to provide two exhibition galleries, a meeting room and a...

[ Add a review of Architecture Centre, The ]

Arnolfini

One of Europe’s leading centres for the contemporary arts, it has been housed since 1975 in Bush House, a former tea warehouse. Arnolfini’s international artistic programme presents progressive and experimental visual arts, live art and performance, dance, cinema, literary readings...

[ Add a review of Arnolfini ] [ See reviews of Arnolfini ]

Ashton Court Mansion and Estate

Two miles from Bristol city centre is this historic country house and park. Once the home of a family of wealthy Bristol merchants, it is now owned by Bristol City Council. The mansion is a venue for conferences and banqueting,...

[ Add a review of Ashton Court Mansion and Estate ]

Avon Valley Railway

This railway is a real experience for the casual user or the train enthusiast. It offers a six mile journey through this beautiful area of the countryside, bringing visitors the joys of the age of steam, a luxurious form...

[ Add a review of Avon Valley Railway ]

Berthold Lubetkin's House

Berthold Lubetkin was born in Georgia and studied architecture in Moscow and Leningrad where he witnessed first hand the Russian Revolution unfold. It is thought that much of his modern design style came from the deconstruction he saw during...

[ Add a review of Berthold Lubetkin's House ]

Blackfriars

These are the only surviving friary buildings in Bristol. The Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans) were evangelists with a mission to towns. They were known as black friars from their black habit. Their friary in Bristol was a large one,...

[ Add a review of Blackfriars ]

Blaise Castle House Museum

The 650-acre Blaise Castle Estate has been a public pleasure-ground since it was bought by Bristol Council. Paths wind along wooded slopes and beside brooks. The house was built in 1796-98 for John Scandrett Harford, a wealthy Bristol banker. He...

[ Add a review of Blaise Castle House Museum ] [ See reviews of Blaise Castle House Museum ]

Blaise Hamlet

These enchanting cottages around a green were built c.1811 for retired employees of John Scandrett Harford, who owned Blaise Castle House. Each of the nine cottages has its own character. The hamlet was designed by John Nash, master of the...

[ Add a review of Blaise Hamlet ]

Brandon Hill Park

Brandon Hill is Bristol’s oldest park. Granted to the city corporation by the Earl of Gloucester in 1174, for centuries it was let to farmers, but from 1625 it has been a public space. Now it is a lunchtime haven...

[ Add a review of Brandon Hill Park ]

Bristol Blue Glass

The celebrated Bristol Blue Glass has been made in the city for centuries. Glassmaking died out in Bristol soon after the Second World War, but was revived in 1988 by James Adlington. His glassmaking works uses traditional techniques to create...

[ Add a review of Bristol Blue Glass ]

Bristol Botanic Gardens

The University of Bristol Botanic Gardens are located off Durdham Down in one of the most attractive parts of the city. The gardens contains an internationally important collection of exotic and native plants, some kept in glasshouses and others...

[ Add a review of Bristol Botanic Gardens ]

Bristol Cathedral

After Henry VIII closed England’s monasteries, he found a new use for Bristol’s great Abbey of St Augustine. In 1542 it became the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity. The new diocese found itself with only half a...

[ Add a review of Bristol Cathedral ]

Bristol Cultural Centre

The idea of the Cultural Development Centre is to offer ways for the people of the city and surrounding area to develop their cultural talents in partnership with the authorities. The centre concentrates on visual arts and performance, and...

[ Add a review of Bristol Cultural Centre ]

Bristol Hippodrome

The West End comes to Bristol here. The theatre is large enough to house big national productions - touring musicals, ballet and opera. Locally-produced shows are staged here too, such as pantomime and the Bristol Gang Show. The Hippodrome has...

[ Add a review of Bristol Hippodrome ]

Bristol Ice Rink

Bristol’s rink opened in 1966, to the delight of young Bristolian Robin Cousins, who had a yen to skate. The future Olympic gold medallist trained here for seven years. In those days the rink was owned by Mecca and called...

[ Add a review of Bristol Ice Rink ] [ See reviews of Bristol Ice Rink ]

Bristol Library Service

The main library in the heart of Bristol is housed in a fantastic and beautifully preserved building. It is filled with a massive archive of texts, audio and visual materials, much of which is available for loan, as well...

[ Add a review of Bristol Library Service ]

Bristol Record Office

Bristol Record Office is home to a massive archive that relates to the long and fascinating history of the city of Bristol. From the very earliest settlements on the banks of the Avon, the city quickly became an important...

[ Add a review of Bristol Record Office ]

Bristol Register Office

Civil registration has literally taken over from the church here. In 1670 the Quakers of Bristol built the first meeting house on this site. William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, married Bristolian Hannah Callowhill there in 1696. The building was considered...

[ Add a review of Bristol Register Office ]

Bristol Spa Pump Rooms

Located on the edge of Clifton village in the city, overlooking the great gorge and the Clifton Suspension Bridge, this site was originally that of the great pump rooms in Bristol. The facility was put in place to draw...

[ Add a review of Bristol Spa Pump Rooms ]

Bristol Uni Theatre Collection

Established in 1951, Bristol University Theatre Collection is housed within the Department of Drama, the first dedicated department of its type in a UK university. The collection is rich and varied, bringing together photographs, costumes, literature, texts and recordings...

[ Add a review of Bristol Uni Theatre Collection ]

Bristol Zoo Gardens

Voted Zoo of the Year 2004 by the Good Britain Guide, Bristol Zoo Gardens has something for everyone from the smallest and rarest tortoise in the world, to the largest ape. With over 400 exotic and endangered species to...

[ Add a review of Bristol Zoo Gardens ]

Bristol's Industrial Museum

There is a long and proud history of industry in Bristol, and of course was the home and popular building site for industrial engineer Isambar Kingdom Brunel, responsible for the SS Great Britain and Clifton Suspension Bridge. This excellent...

[ Add a review of Bristol's Industrial Museum ]

British Empire Museum

This award-winning museum presents the extraordinary story of Britain’s former empire and its continuing impact. It offers sixteen galleries, special exhibitions, a cafe and a shop, not to mention its own radio studio. The museum is housed in Isambard Kingdom...

[ Add a review of British Empire Museum ]

Brunel House

This handsome structure was once a landmark in hotel planning. It was the first hotel built especially for railway passengers. Isambard Kingdom Brunel planned a terminus for his Great Western Railway north of the cathedral close, convenient for the docks....

[ Add a review of Brunel House ]

Brunswick Court

The former Brunswick Congregational Chapel dominates the square. It was designed by William Armstrong in 1834. The huge Ionic columns of the portico hint of Greek and Roman temples, but there is no extravagant decoration. Instead interest is created by...

[ Add a review of Brunswick Court ]

Buckingham Chapel

Despite being housed in an imposing mock gothic church building, this church is actually renowned as one of the friendliest and welcoming in the Clifton area. Home to a large congregation of committed Christian the church is open several...

[ Add a review of Buckingham Chapel ]

CREATE

CREATE is an environment centre that has been established in Bristol to highlight the many issues that are associated with the way the world is developing under the somewhat flawed stewardship of mankind. The centre illustrates to visitors some...

[ Add a review of CREATE ]

Carling Academy Bristol

Opened in 2001, the Carling Academy Bristol has a capaciy of 1,900 for club nights or 1,600 for gigs. This popular music venue has entertained the likes of Basement Jaxx, The Charlatans, Supergrass, Travis, Stereophonics and the Sugababes. Street...

[ Add a review of Carling Academy Bristol ]

Castle Park

From the ashes of disaster sprang this green lung for the city centre. Once a great Norman castle stood here and a quarter of the medieval town. Oliver Cromwell had the castle demolished. That created an opportunity to expand the...

[ Add a review of Castle Park ]

Central Library

Cheek by jowl with the Norman Abbey Gatehouse is one of the masterpieces of the early Modern Movement. Designed by Charles Holden in 1906, the Municipal Library beautifully echoes and compliments the gatehouse and yet makes its own statement. While...

[ Add a review of Central Library ]

Christ Church

The Quarter Jacks of Christ Church still ring out the quarter hour. Carved in 1728, the Jacks were made for the medieval church of Holy Trinity which stood on this site. It was demolished in 1786 to widen Broad Street....

[ Add a review of Christ Church ]

Christmas Steps

This quaint corner of Bristol is like a time capsule. Climbing the steps you pass reminders of every age from medieval to modern. The lampposts recall Victorian gaslights. Tiny shops with charming bow-fronted windows take you back to Georgian days....

[ Add a review of Christmas Steps ]

Church of All Saints

This old church is a patchwork of styles. It has Norman pillars at the west end, while the east end is 15th-century. The most striking feature though is its elegant Georgian tower, topped by a cupola. The church once housed...

[ Add a review of Church of All Saints ]

Church of SS Philip and Jacob

First mentioned in 1174 as St Jacobus-in-the-market, the church changed its dedication to St Philip and now has both saints as patrons, affectionately known as Pip ’n Jay. The present building dates from the early 13th century, but has been...

[ Add a review of Church of SS Philip and Jacob ]

Church of St. John the Baptist

This unusual church was built into the old town wall, with its tower over the north gate. Chapels over town gates were not uncommon. But a church across the whole width of the wall would weaken a town’s defences. Bristol...

[ Add a review of Church of St. John the Baptist ]

Church of St. Thomas

Archbishop Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral after he had defended the rights of the Church against the Crown. Europe reeled in shock and Thomas was rapidly declared a saint. A church was built to his memory here soon...

[ Add a review of Church of St. Thomas ]

City Museum & Art Gallery

Bristol’s major museum has a splendid Edwardian Baroque showcase. The building was a gift to the city by tobacco baron Sir William Henry Wills. Its opulent design by his cousin Sir Frank Wills does justice to the important collections within....

[ Add a review of City Museum & Art Gallery ]

Clifton Cathedral

This boldly modern Roman Catholic Cathedral was consecrated in 1973. Commissioned from the Percy Thomas Partnership just as the Second Vatican Council was meeting, the cathedral’s design was among the first to respond to its decree that a congregation should...

[ Add a review of Clifton Cathedral ]

Clifton College

"There’s a breathless hush in the close tonight." Poet Sir Henry Newbolt’s memorable line recalls his schooldays at Clifton College. Opened in 1862 in emulation of the old-established public schools, it looks the part. Architect Charles Hanson took as his...

[ Add a review of Clifton College ]

Clifton Down & Durdham Down

The Downs are a huge open space beside the Avon Gorge. Grassland ideal for football and kite-flying is interspersed with woodland and wild flowers. The deep gorge is a unique wildlife site. A footpath runs along the top of it,...

[ Add a review of Clifton Down & Durdham Down ]

Clifton Downs

Clifton Downs are an area situated to the north of the village of Clifton in Bristol. They represent a large area that has been left fallow by the local people and is a wild area that attracts an interesting...

[ Add a review of Clifton Downs ]

Clifton Library

Clifton Library is a large public library at the heart of Clifton village in Bristol. The facility has a large collection of both fiction and non-fiction books available for loan as well as an extensive range of reference titles...

[ Add a review of Clifton Library ]

Clifton Observatory

This camera obscura is superbly placed. High above the Avon Gorge, it provides panoramic views of the dramatic scenery. The observatory was originally a windmill. After a fire in 1777 damaged the building, it stood derelict until rented to the...

[ Add a review of Clifton Observatory ]

Clifton Rocks Railway

This railway gives local people and visitors to the area the chance to experience the great experience of a traditional and historic funicular railway. The railway gives some fantastic views of the historic city of Bristol and its surrounds...

[ Add a review of Clifton Rocks Railway ]

Clifton Suspension Bridge

For over 100 years the Clifton Suspension Bridge, spanning the beautiful Avon Gorge, has been as much the symbol of Bristol as the Eiffel Tower of Paris or the Opera House of Sydney. Since its opening in 1864 meticulous maintenance...

[ Add a review of Clifton Suspension Bridge ] [ See reviews of Clifton Suspension Bridge ]

Colston Hall

Bristol’s largest concert venue is run by the city council. It takes its name from the school that once stood on the site, founded by Edward Colston. The first concert hall was opened in 1867 in a building designed by...

[ Add a review of Colston Hall ]

Colston’s Almshouse

Gracious ranges are grouped around the courtyard of this almshouse built in 1691. The clock and belfry mark its barrel-vaulted chapel. It was founded for the poor by Bristol merchant Edward Colston, who made a fortune from the slave trade....

[ Add a review of Colston’s Almshouse ]

Commercial Rooms, The

The merchants of late Georgian Bristol wanted somewhere exclusive to meet. So they built themselves this elegant club in 1810. Impressed by the Lyceum at Liverpool, the committee commissioned London architect Charles Augustus Busby to design something similar. Within the...

[ Add a review of Commercial Rooms, The ]

Concorde at Filton

Sadly the greatest innovation in commercial flight, Concorde, is a plane that is no longer seen in the skies of Britain or anywhere in the world. This is a rare opportunity for visitors to board a real Concorde supersonic...

[ Add a review of Concorde at Filton ]

Council House

Bristol’s largest neo-Georgian building dominates College Green. The massive sweep of the Council House curves around the west side of the green and vies with the cathedral beside it in looming presence. The council, needing larger premises than their building...

[ Add a review of Council House ]

Earth Sciences Geology Museum

The Geology Museum is part of the Department of Earth Sciences at The University of Bristol and is one of the primary reference and research points on the subject in the country. The museum houses over ten thousand samples...

[ Add a review of Earth Sciences Geology Museum ]

Edward Colston

Colston (1636-1721) was a man of contradictions. Much of his wealth was founded on the slave trade. He was an ardent supporter of the Tory party and the established church, to the point of intolerance of all dissent. Yet he...

[ Add a review of Edward Colston ]

Edward Everard’s Printing Works

This remarkable Art Nouveau façade was designed in 1900 for the printing works of Edward Everard. Either side are Johann Gutenberg, father of printing, and William Morris, reviver of craftsmanship. In between the Spirit of Light spreads glorious wings over...

[ Add a review of Edward Everard’s Printing Works ]

Exchange, The

The Exchange is considered the finest Georgian building in Bristol. It was the work of Bath architect John Wood the Elder and opened in 1743. Wood was asked to design a grand structure around an open court where merchants could...

[ Add a review of Exchange, The ]

Floating Harbour

Bristol grew wealthy on trade through its harbour. Yet for centuries strong tides left vessels half buried in mud at low water. The problem was solved in the early 19th century, when a stretch of the River Avon was enclosed...

[ Add a review of Floating Harbour ]

Frenchay Museum

Frenchay Museum is a small but fascinating place of history to visit, charting the growth and development of this suburb of Bristol. Although once an independent and quite isolated community, throughout the years, the great city of the south...

[ Add a review of Frenchay Museum ]

Georgian House, The

Step inside an 18th-century town house decorated and furnished in the style of the time. It was once the home of John Pinney, a merchant with estates in the West Indies. His slave Pero has a novel memorial in Pero’s...

[ Add a review of Georgian House, The ]

Gertrude Hermes' House

Gertrude Hermes lived a significant amount of time in this charming old house on the edge of Clifton village in Bristol, close to the suspension bridge. Hermes was one of the best known painters and sculptors of the 20th...

[ Add a review of Gertrude Hermes' House ]

Glenside Hospital Museum

The Glenside Hospital Museum is filled with interesting artefacts and historical documents that help visitors to understand the history of this hospital, and the way that medicine has progressed throughout the years. A subject that has always been at...

[ Add a review of Glenside Hospital Museum ]

Granary, The

The Granary was once exactly that - a humble grain store. Yet it is one of the most admired buildings in Bristol. It is the masterpiece of the Bristol Byzantine style, a swirl with polychromatic brickwork. The massive façades are...

[ Add a review of Granary, The ]

Greyhound Inn

The Greyhound was once a bustling coaching inn. It was built about 1620, but refronted in the 18th century. Coaches left the Greyhound for Chippenham and points east. The stage coach era ended with the coming of the railways in...

[ Add a review of Greyhound Inn ]

Hatchet Inn

The oldest pub in Bristol has been licensed since 1606. The tall gabled section is the original inn. Houses on either side were damaged in the Blitz and rebuilt as wings to the inn. In the 18th century a cock-fighting...

[ Add a review of Hatchet Inn ]

High Cross

Bristol’s High Cross once marked the town centre. It stood at the junction of High Street, Wine Street, Corn Street and Broad Street. Now the original is at Stourhead and a replica of just the top part is tucked away...

[ Add a review of High Cross ]

Isambard Kingdom Brunel

Here is the famous engineer in his most famous pose. He was caught on camera in the mid 1850s standing before the massive chains of the Great Eastern, almost dwarfed by his top hat. This statue by John Doubleday was...

[ Add a review of Isambard Kingdom Brunel ]

Jesus Green

Jesus Green is situated at the heart of Clifton village in Bristol. It is a large open expanse of public land that is popular with local people and visitors. Just a stone's throw from Clifton Suspension Bridge, the...

[ Add a review of Jesus Green ]

John Addington Symonds' House

John Addington Symonds was born and bred in Bristol. He lived throughout the 19th Century and was known as one of the best and outspoken poets and literary critics of his age. Well known for his advocacy of...

[ Add a review of John Addington Symonds' House ]

John Cabot

Cabot gazes out on the Floating Harbour. It was from Bristol that he set sail in 1497 for the New World. The Italian-born mariner was christened Giovanni Caboto. Convinced that the shortest route to the Orient was westwards across the...

[ Add a review of John Cabot ]

John Foster’s Almshouse

Salt merchant John Foster founded this almshouse when he was Mayor of Bristol in 1481. It has been rebuilt several times. Oddly enough the present Victorian building - in a picturesque Burgundian Gothic style - was designed by another John...

[ Add a review of John Foster’s Almshouse ]

John Wesley’s Chapel

The oldest Methodist building in the world. John Wesley’s headquarters when he began open air preaching in Bristol in 1739. This extraordinary building enables visitors to sense the atmosphere of the earliest days of Methodism when the ‘room’ was used...

[ Add a review of John Wesley’s Chapel ]

Kiln Restaurant

Bristol Blue glass is famous. Bristol became a centre for glass making in the 17th century, but the industry died out in the city in the early 20th century. Today Bristol Blue is being made once more, but the great...

[ Add a review of Kiln Restaurant ]

Kings Weston House

Architect Sir John Vanbrugh, famed for the palatial Blenheim and Castle Howard, designed this more compact country house for Sir Edward Southall, Queen Anne’s Secretary of State for Ireland. Fine interiors make a gracious setting for its current use as...

[ Add a review of Kings Weston House ]

Kings Weston Roman Villa

A Roman villa was a country house, usually the centre of an estate. This one was discovered during the construction of Lawrence Weston housing estate in 1947. Remains of the walls can be seen from the street, but the mosaic...

[ Add a review of Kings Weston Roman Villa ]

LOT

LOT is housed in a 25000 square foot site over three levels, and comprises an artist-led collaborative art project in Bristol. The main exhibition spaces are naturally lit, offering a fine place to view the range of diverse exhibitions...

[ Add a review of LOT ]

Lead Shot Tower

The first shot tower in the world was built on Redcliffe Hill by plumber William Watts. In 1782 he invented a way to make perfectly round lead shot by pouring molten lead through a sieve and allowing it to drop...

[ Add a review of Lead Shot Tower ]

Leigh Woods

Leigh Woods is a characteristic British woodland habitat that has changed for many hundreds of years. Situated on the edge of Bristol, the National Trust has protected the woods and offers some interesting walks through the area. There...

[ Add a review of Leigh Woods ]

Llandoger Trow

King Street was built up outside the city wall in the reign of Charles II and named after him. Still today many of its 17th-century buildings survive. The most spectacular is the Llandoger Trow, named after a ship which an...

[ Add a review of Llandoger Trow ]

Lloyds TSB Bank

This building begs to be noticed. The astonishingly opulent façade was modelled on that of the sumptuous Sansovino Library in Venice. Two tiers of arcades are decorated with a mass of sculpture. It was the brain-child of Bristol architect William...

[ Add a review of Lloyds TSB Bank ]

Lord Mayor’s Chapel, The

This little church is all that remains of St Mark’s Hospital, founded c.1220 to feed 100 of the city’s poor. They were to be given one meal a day of pottage and bread. By the 15th century it was more...

[ Add a review of Lord Mayor’s Chapel, The ]

Mall Gardens

Mall Gardens are a beautiful set of public gardens at the very heart of Clifton, close to the suspension bridge in Bristol. The gardens are well maintained by the local authority and have a selection of flowers and plants...

[ Add a review of Mall Gardens ]

Matthew, The

This is a full-scale replica of the ship on which John Cabot sailed to America in 1497. She was built in Bristol to celebrate the 500th anniversary of his discovery of Newfoundland. Despite the lack of plans or pictures of...

[ Add a review of Matthew, The ]

Merchant Tailors’ Almshouse

The guilds of Bristol looked after those in want among their members. The elderly who could no longer work, or their widows, could find a home in a guild almshouse. The Merchant Tailors were an old guild who acquired a...

[ Add a review of Merchant Tailors’ Almshouse ]

Merchant Venturers’ Almshouse

The powerful Society of Merchant Venturers controlled the seaborne trade of Bristol for centuries. It first provided for impoverished sailors - the elderly or injured - at an almshouse in Marsh Street, just inside the city wall. After King Street...

[ Add a review of Merchant Venturers’ Almshouse ]

Millenium Square

William Tyndale sits on a bench, translating the New Testament. We expect to see statues commemorating local worthies in our city centres, but Bristol’s latest square gives the tradition a playful new twist. The statues seem to mingle with the...

[ Add a review of Millenium Square ]

NEVAC

The National Electronic and Video Archive of the Crafts is one of the most unique collections of its type anywhere in the world, and is a fascinating place to visit if you have any sort of interest in crafts....

[ Add a review of NEVAC ]

Neptune

Neptune, god of the sea, presides over maritime Bristol. The lead statue was cast in 1722 by John Randall to dignify the Temple Conduit. It stood there for over a century. Since then Neptune has been shuffled from place to...

[ Add a review of Neptune ]

Pero’s Bridge

This innovative footbridge opened in 1999 to link the waterfront leisure facilities on either side of St Augustine’s Reach. In an unusual collaboration, Irish artist Eilís O’Connell worked on the design with engineers Arup. The sculpted horns are counterweights which...

[ Add a review of Pero’s Bridge ]

Picture This

Picture This is a well-respected and innovative moving arts gallery that commissions and exhibits a great deal of diverse and interesting works throughout the year. The collection is designed to ignite an interest in the arts amongst all who...

[ Add a review of Picture This ]

Priory Church of St. James, The

This Norman church is Bristol’s earliest surviving building. The priory was founded in 1129 by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, who also built a great stone castle for Bristol. When the priory was dissolved, the nave of its church was spared,...

[ Add a review of Priory Church of St. James, The ]

Queen Square

Spacious Queen Square has become a popular venue for outdoor events. It was the first residential square outside London. Bristol Corporation planned it as an elegant enclave for the wealthy. The houses were to be solidly built of brick and...

[ Add a review of Queen Square ]

Queen Victoria Statue

Bristol Corporation commissioned this marble statue to mark Victoria’s Jubilee in 1887. The artist selected was Sir Joseph Edgar Boehm, sculptor to the queen, who designed the coinage for the Jubilee. After 50 years on the throne, half of them...

[ Add a review of Queen Victoria Statue ]

ROOM Artspace

Located at the very heart of the great city of Bristol, ROOM provides a first class artist run artspace and gallery. Operating since 2003, the gallery has quickly developed a name for showing the best in contemporary art in...

[ Add a review of ROOM Artspace ]

Rajah Rammohun Roy

Here stands a man far ahead of his time. Born in Bengal in 1772 to a Brahmin family, Roy became a scholar and reformer. He campaigned against child marriage and suttee. After a career in the East India Company, Roy...

[ Add a review of Rajah Rammohun Roy ]

Red Lodge, The

Behind this Georgian front beats an Elizabethan heart. This historic house began life as a lodge to the Great House where Queen Elizabeth I once stayed. Its magnificent Great Oak Room is one of the finest remaining of the period,...

[ Add a review of Red Lodge, The ]

Redgrave Theatre

Not many schools can boast their own purpose-built theatre. The Redgrave Theatre belongs to the successful public school Clifton College. It was named after Old Cliftonian Sir Michael Redgrave, who opened it in 1966. Naturally it hosts school productions. But...

[ Add a review of Redgrave Theatre ]

Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust

The Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust was established by a small group of workers and enthusiasts in 1981, and on a small patch at the Bristol factory, the trust has developed a fine museum of interesting pieces related to one of the...

[ Add a review of Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust ]

Royal Fort House

This elegant Georgian house has outstanding rococo plasterwork. Thomas Stocking created the vines that curl up the stairwell, with birds pecking the grapes and this fox looking hungrily on. The house itself was designed by James Bridges for wealthy merchant...

[ Add a review of Royal Fort House ]

Royal West of England Academy

This was Bristol’s first art gallery, built in 1858. The Bristol Society of Artists argued among themselves over its design. Should the style be Greek or Italian? The winner was this flamboyant Italianate façade by J.H.Hirst. The Academy has a...

[ Add a review of Royal West of England Academy ]

Royal York Crescent

Is this the longest crescent in Europe? It is claimed to be. Magnificently set on a south-facing slope, its sun-drenched ironwork balconies take full advantage of the views. In an unusual arrangement, its front doors open onto a pavement set...

[ Add a review of Royal York Crescent ]

SS Great Britain

Launched in 1843, the SS Great Britain was the world’s first iron-hulled, steam-powered, ocean-going ship. Her designer was the inventive genius Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Intended for the trans-Atlantic luxury passenger trade, she was more used to carry emigrants to Australia....

[ Add a review of SS Great Britain ] [ See reviews of SS Great Britain ]

Sir Abraham Roberts' House

General Sir Abraham Roberts loved living in Clifton. Although he was often abroad during his younger years in active service, he always considered this large house in the centre of Clifton village to be his home. Roberts made...

[ Add a review of Sir Abraham Roberts' House ]

Spike Island

Spike Island has gained a reputation across the region and throughout the nation as one of the foremost venues for contemporary art anywhere in the Bristol area. The project was originally designed simply to offer studio space to artists,...

[ Add a review of Spike Island ]

St. Andrew’s Walk

Clifton was once a village served by the medieval Church of St Andrew. The small church could not cope with increasing numbers and was rebuilt, only to be lost in the Blitz. It was not rebuilt again, as Clifton had...

[ Add a review of St. Andrew’s Walk ]

St. Bartholomew’s Hospital

Old houses hide a yet earlier history. Here stood the medieval St Bartholomew’s Hospital. After it was converted into a school in 1532, it seems that plots along the street front were granted to build houses. For two centuries boys...

[ Add a review of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital ]

St. James’s Garden

The large churchyard of St James’s Priory became a public garden in 1882. A stone cross with a drinking fountain was donated, which has now lost its head. Part of the garden itself was later lost to city redevelopment, while...

[ Add a review of St. James’s Garden ]

St. John’s Conduit

Medieval Bristol was well-supplied with fresh water, piped from springs on nearby hills to public conduits dotted about the city. Water still gushes from a mossy lion’s mouth in the wall of St John’s Church, beside the one remaining medieval...

[ Add a review of St. John’s Conduit ]

St. John’s Gate

This is the one remaining city gate of Bristol. It was rebuilt by Bristol merchant Walter Frampton around 1380 along with the church of St John the Baptist beside it. Frampton’s tomb and effigy can still be seen in the...

[ Add a review of St. John’s Gate ]

St. Mary Redcliffe

St Mary Redcliffe is a parish church the size of a cathedral. Such splendour speaks of Bristol’s wealth. The city’s merchants could rival the resources of a diocese. There was a church here in Norman times, but the present building...

[ Add a review of St. Mary Redcliffe ]

St. Mary-le-Port

Only ruins remain of this old church. The Blitz destroyed all but its tower. The crumbling fragments of the rest were left on view as a reminder of war’s destructive power. St Mary’s was one of the earliest churches of...

[ Add a review of St. Mary-le-Port ]

St. Mary-on-the-Quay

This imposing church with its massive Corinthian portico stood on the waterfront when it was completed in 1840, hence the name. The River Frome in front of it was later covered over. The church was built by a movement led...

[ Add a review of St. Mary-on-the-Quay ]

St. Michael's Hill

Once much of Bristol looked like this - though perhaps not as brightly painted. The seventeenth-century city centre was a mass of tightly-packed timber-framed houses, their upper stories jettied out over the street. Most had gone even before the Blitz...

[ Add a review of St. Michael's Hill ]

St. Nicholas Almshouse

The almshouse was one of the first buildings in King Street, a new development then outside the city wall. It was built in 1652-6 beside the Back Street Gate. The gate and most of the city wall has long gone,...

[ Add a review of St. Nicholas Almshouse ]

St. Nicholas Church

The church beside Bristol Bridge is dedicated to the patron saint of sailors. It was built into the town wall, with its chancel over St Nicholas Gate. When the bridge was rebuilt in the eighteenth century, the upper part of...

[ Add a review of St. Nicholas Church ]

St. Paul’s Church

As late Georgian Bristol grew with a burst of squares and crescents, the new districts needed churches. In fact the residents of Brunswick and Portland Squares demanded a church of their own and the City Council put up £1,000 for...

[ Add a review of St. Paul’s Church ]

St. Peter’s Chuch

Castle Park is dominated by the ruined shell of St. Peter’s. It was among the Bristol churches gutted by bombs in the Blitz. Sadly it was one of the oldest. Saxon in origin, it was rebuilt in Norman times and...

[ Add a review of St. Peter’s Chuch ]

St. Stephen’s Church

This area was a marsh outside the town wall until the River Frome was diverted in 1247. St Stephen’s parish was built up on reclaimed land. Bristol mayor John Shipward financed a rebuilding of the church around 1470 with its...

[ Add a review of St. Stephen’s Church ]

Sugar House, The

Sugar and tobacco were imported from the New World through Bristol. So where better to refine sugar? It was an important industry in the city for two centuries. Bristol had many sugar houses. Now this is only one remaining. Not...

[ Add a review of Sugar House, The ]

Tailor’s Hall

This fine door hood has the coat of arms of the Merchant Tailors Guild. It protects the entrance to their one time guild hall, built in 1740-1. The tailors were one of the 23 trade companies of the city, but...

[ Add a review of Tailor’s Hall ]

Temple Church and Gardens

Temple Church was founded c.1147 by Robert of Gloucester, the powerful illegitimate son of Henry I, who held Bristol Castle and great estates in the area. He granted land to the Knights Templar, who built upon it one of the...

[ Add a review of Temple Church and Gardens ]

Temple Meads Station

During the early Victorian railway rush companies sprang up to build railway lines across Britain. Bristol was the meeting point of the Great Western Railway and the Bristol and Exeter line. With the logic of private enterprise, two terminuses were...

[ Add a review of Temple Meads Station ]

Theatre Royal

Bristol has long been at the forefront of provincial theatre. Support for drama in the city encouraged the building of the Theatre Royal in 1764-6. The design was based on the Drury Lane theatre in London. Both were tucked in...

[ Add a review of Theatre Royal ]

Victoria Square Gardens

Victoria Square Gardens stand at the centre of the beautiful residential area of Victoria Square at the heart of Clifton in Bristol. The gardens are well maintained and offer an enchanting place for local people to sit and relax...

[ Add a review of Victoria Square Gardens ]

W.G. Grace's House

William Gilbert Grace was better known by his initials WG and is arguably one of the most famous names in English cricket. A pioneer of the game and one of the most talented players of the Victorian age, Grace...

[ Add a review of W.G. Grace's House ]

Watershed

Watershed was Britain’s first Media Centre. It opened in 1982 in an intriguing building. E Shed was a simple, utilitarian dock transit shed, yet it has a staggeringly ornate façade, complete with a domed tower, designed by Edward Gabriel in...

[ Add a review of Watershed ]

Watershed Media Centre

Watershed is the leading digital media centre in the south west of England, providing a unique opportunity for visitors to create, learn and be educated in many forms of moving image media. There is an extensive programme of feature...

[ Add a review of Watershed Media Centre ]

Westbury Church

Christianity goes back a long way in Westbury. There was a religious settlement here by 715. It declined, but St Oswald, Bishop of Worcester, sent 12 monks to make fresh start at Westbury in 961. Not all his successors were...

[ Add a review of Westbury Church ]

Westbury College Gatehouse

Bishop Carpenter built a new quadrangle in the 15th century for Westbury’s college (community) of priests. It was like a miniature castle, with a turret at each corner and a battlemented gatehouse. Centuries later a Georgian house was tucked inside...

[ Add a review of Westbury College Gatehouse ]

White Hart Inn

This historic pub stands on the site of the gatehouse of St James Priory. Its vaulted cellars apparently date to the medieval period. The inn was first granted a license in 1672, but has been much altered. It was refronted...

[ Add a review of White Hart Inn ]

Ye Shakespeare

England’s greatest dramatist is honoured in quite a few pub names. This house was built only 20 years after Shakespeare’s death, if we accept the credible date of 1636 on the front. But it did not become the Shakespeare until...

[ Add a review of Ye Shakespeare ]