Bristol city centre
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The central area of the city of Bristol, south west England, is the area south of the central ring road and north of the Floating Harbour, bordered north by St Pauls and Easton, east by Temple Meads and Redcliffe, and west by Clifton and Canon's Marsh. It is contained entirely within the Council ward of Cabot.
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[edit] Historic centre
The historic heart of the city was immediately north of Bristol Bridge, between the River Frome and the River Avon, in the area of High Street, Broad Street and Corn Street. The eastern part of this area, between the bridge and Bristol Castle, was destroyed in 1940 during the Bristol Blitz, but the western part largely survived, and contains many historic buildings.
After the war, the blitzed area was redeveloped, and Castle Park was also created.
[edit] 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. It was so called long after the last trams left in 1939, 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 an inner ring road. These planning decisions are beginning to be reversed, for example, the ring road is no longer circular, as the stretch through Queen Square has been closed and returned to its use as a public park. St Augustine's Parade is also becoming less car oriented, as roads have been narrowed, turned into bus lanes or closed altogether. At one point it looked likely that part of St. Augustine's Parade would be dug up to reveal the river below; but this plan was discarded and fountains were erected instead.
[edit] Broadmead
The area northeast of the historic area, around Broadmead, was heavily damaged during the blitz. After the war the area was redeveloped, and the streets and shops in Broadmead became the main shopping district of the city. To the northwest is St James' Park.
Like most 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 runs parallel to the main shopping road on a three level covered street.
Broadmead is undergoing regeneration, with the shopping area being extended over the central ring road to produce a new shopping centre. This new area had been named Merchants Quarter but in April 2006 this name was abandoned after a campaign claiming the name was offensive because it was the Bristol Merchant Venturers who dealt in the trade of African slaves. After much consultation, the name will now be Cabot Circus.
A nearby multi-storey car park and utilitarian tower block, Tollgate House have recently been demolished. Work started in late 2005. On 8 June 2006 workers working on the regeneration of the area discovered an unusual object under the building site and fears of a potential unexploded German bomb from World War II resulted in much of Broadmead having to be evacuated and stores temporarily closed[1]. The following day it was discovered to be a piece of reinforced concrete[2].
[edit] 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 At-Bristol.
[edit] Gallery
 St Augustine's Reach from St Augustine's Parade during the 2004 Harbour festival |
 St Augustine's Parade |
 Looking across Castle Park in Bristol city centre |
 The large roundabout at Old Market |
 The City Centre water-feature in summer |
 City Centre entertainment: the Thekla Social ship is a club and restaurant |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Broadmead Bristol website
- The Future of Broadmead and Merchants Quarter
- Petition to change the name 'Merchants' Quarter
- Bristol City Centre Expansion website
- Map of Bristol City Centre circa 1900
