This gallery presents photographs of architecture features and buildings in Bristol. As well as its historic Georgian and Victorian properties, the city boasts many striking new constructions.
A useful resource on Bristol architecture and design can be found at: Design West.
You can explore other galleries using the drop down menu under the Bristol Gallery tab.
Period properties reflected in the blue glass of one of the city’s more modern buildings
Looking towards Clifton from the Cumberland Basin
The ‘Twist’ sculpture, by Ackroyd & Harvey, at the end of the M32, with the steeple in the background creating an architectural counterpoint.
Numbers 2 & 1 Glass Wharf, looking towards Temple Meads Station, Bristol. (2 Glass Wharf: Design by Atkins. 1 Glass Wharf: Design by Stride Treglown Architects)
View to the outreaches of the city, and beyond, from the entrance to Lime Walk, Clifton, Bristol
The steep gradients of roads just off The Downs in Bristol reveal both historic street scenes and city vistas
Window arches cast shadow patterns on One Redcliffe Street, Bristol’s first building over 100 feet high, dating back to 1964. (Design: Dickinson Robinson Group in-house architect)
View from Temple Quay, looking towards the city centre
Car parks can be beautiful – the Cabot Circus shoppers’ park gleams in Bristol sunshine. (Architect: Wilkinson Eyre)
‘The Holmes’ viewed from the University of Bristol’s superb botanic garden. The Victorian merchant’s mansion was the World War Two headquarters of General Omar Bradley, where he planned the Normandy landings. Now owned by the University, planting of the current botanic garden began in 2005. (Further information available at: bristol.ac.uk/botanic-garden)
View from Lower Church Lane towards Christmas Steps and beyond. Bristol’s hills and architecture provide numerous ‘glimpses’ of the city
Looking up Sutherland Place in Clifton towards Upper Belgrave Road and The Downs
Netham Lock provides boats from the River Avon/Kennet & Avon Canal with access to Bristol’s Floating Harbour. The lock was built between 1805-1807. The Nineteenth Century lock-keeper’s cottage is Grade 11 Listed.
A vintage Lanchester car in front of Sion Spring House, Clifton, Bristol. The House, opposite the upper entrance to Clifton Rocks Railway, is notable for its fine balcony. In the 1780s, the owner of the house was digging a well and found a hot spring, prompting him to set up a pump room. It was not a success but he did later pump the water to a few hundred local houses.
The view from Marine Parade in Pill towards the Avon Bridge. In the opposite direction, the walkway runs round to Pill Creek which provides moorings for several small boats. Pill was once the base for Avon pilots (now moved to Avonmouth), the site of a customs station, opened in 1850, and also of the old Pill/Shirehampton ferry. Although sporting Bristol postcodes, Pill is actually in North Somerset.
St James Priory, originally run by Benedictine Monks, is Bristol’s oldest building, dating back to 1129 AD. The tower was added circa 1374.
Vale Street in Totterdown, Bristol has been variously described as the steepest residential street in England, Europe and the world. In any event it must rank among the steepest, with the bottom section particularly posing a challenge to vehicles which frequently ground on the tarmac.
Pipe Lane, adjacent to the Colston Hall, dates back to the early 1700s. Numbers 5, 6, 7 & 8 are all Grade II Listed. Number 9, one of the earliest properties, was originally three storeys with a gabled frontage but was demolished in 1937 to allow road widening, later to be replaced by the current corner development.
Trenchard Street Car Park, built in 1966, has a surprising amount to offer. It ranks among the city’s popular filming locations, used, among others, for an episode of ‘Skins’, various product promotions and even circus events. The views across the city from the top of the 11 storey structure are impressive. It is also the perfect start point for an exploration of the Red Lodge museum, adjacent to it; a visit to the Grade II Listed Hatchet Inn (1606) just round the corner; and a stop off at the Colston Hall with its stunning ‘gold’ facade.
Victoria Square West in Clifton boasts plaques commemorating two notable Bristol ‘celebrities’. The corner house, Number 15, was home to legendary cricketer W G Grace and his family from 1893/4 – 6. Born in Downend, Grace (1848 – 1915) is generally considered to be one of the greatest ever players. From 1901, Number 20 was home to Eveline Dew Blacker (1884 – 1956). Blacker was Bristol’s first female architect. Her best known work is arguably the Bristol Cenotaph, dating back to 1932.
Looking towards Bristol city centre from below the M32, Junction 2 (the Eastville Flyover). Construction of the M32 in stages from 1966 called for the demolition of the once prominent 665 feet long ‘Thirteen Arches’ viaduct at the junction of Stapleton Road and Muller Road. Today, the underpass joins four subways creating a large, partly covered, area. It has been the subject of various ideas/initiatives for social use of the space to make it less foreboding and more welcoming.
Part of the old wooden jetty used by the P&A Campbell White Funnel paddle steamers which once ran pleasure trips from Bristol to locations such as Newport, Wales. Visible in the background, under the Clifton Suspension Bridge buttress, is the tunnel used by the Portishead Railway – axed by Beeching in the 1960s but later re-opened for freight traffic to Royal Portbury Dock.
The University of Bristol’s (http://www.bristol.ac.uk) striking Life Sciences Building on Tyndall Avenue. The £56.5 million building is the University’s biggest construction project and was opened by Sir David Attenborough in October, 2014. The undulating aluminium wall of the west facing wing (pictured) covers ducts that run down from the plant enclosures on the roof to supply air to the laboratories.
Construction involved some 2000 people, including 28 architects from 10 countries. Project architects were Sheppard Robson and the main contractor was Vinci Construction UK.
The magnificent curved porches and doors that are a key architectural feature of properties in The Paragon, Clifton, Bristol.
The Georgian terrace is Grade II* Listed. It was built between 1809 and 1814 by John Drew with additional work by Steven Hunter.
The sculpture of John Wesley setting out on his preaching engagements that stands in the Broadmead Courtyard of The New Room.
The Grade 1 Listed New Room is the world’s oldest Methodist building, dating back to 1739. The equestrian statue by Arthur G Walker (1861-1939) was unveiled in the Courtyard in 1932.
The striking chimneys of Trelawney Court. The distinctive Arts & Crafts house in Trelawney Road is not Listed but is noted as an ‘Unlisted Building of Merit’ in the Cotham & Redland Character Appraisal.
The beautifully restored Art Deco tower of the old Whiteladies Picture House. The cinema was built in 1921 by James Henry La Trobe and Thomas Henry Weston. It was closed, and largely abandoned, for 17 years before re-opening in 2016 as the Everyman Cinema. The interior of the Grade II Listed cinema retains a number of its original features.
A near original row of chimney stacks and pots ‘marches’ across the Clifton skyline. Pictured from Brighton Mews and showing the rear of properties on South Parade, just off Whiteladies Road.
The ornate architecture and roof of the Clifton Arcade, off Boyce’s Avenue. The venue, which today is owned by Moorpoint Ltd and houses speciality shops and galleries, was built by architect Joseph King. It opened in 1878 and was originally known as King’s Arcade or the Clifton Bazaar. It later fell into disuse before being restored.
The remains of Temple Church and its leaning tower, in Temple Gardens. A church was originally built on the site in the mid 12th Century by the Knights Templar on land donated to them by Robert, Earl of Gloucester. The original building was round.
The church currently visible dates from the 14th Century. It was bombed in World War II and gutted by fire. The lower three stages of the tower were built in the 1390s but now lean some 1.6 metres out of vertical. The top stage was added around 1460 and was intended to be vertical but now also leans.
The ruin is accessed via Church Lane, off Victoria Street. (BS1 6HY).
The eight former dock workers’ homes that make up Old Dock Cottages. The terrace includes Grade II Listed properties and was originally built in 1831 for Bristol Docks Co. Number 1 is now home to the Merchant Navy Association. (BS1 6XL)
Looking across the Floating Harbour, from Baltic Wharf, through the Green Hand of a River God by Vincent Woropay. The sculpture is one of a number positioned around the Harbour.
One of Bristol’s few remaining traditional red ‘phone boxes, in Freemantle Square (BS6).
The green at the centre of the square (just visible left) is close to the site of the one time Prior’s Hill Fort which provided a defence for the north side of the city during the English Civil War.
The steps of Goldney Lane (BS8) provide a route between Clifton Village and Bristol’s Floating Harbour, that offers views across the Cumberland Basin to the old Bond Warehouses and the countryside beyond.
Vyvyan Terrace in Clifton (BS8) viewed across the private gardens which sit in front of it. The striking Terrace, with its elegant Bath stone facade, is Grade II Listed. It dates back to circa 1845 and was styled by Richard Shackleton Pope.
The 63 metre long, 18 metre wide bridge to Arena Island, close to Bristol Temple Meads Station. The bridge links Cattle Market Road to the Island and was originally intended as a key route to a planned, but first delayed and ultimately cancelled, 12,000 seat arena.
This ‘blue hour’ view captures the eco house in Redland, Bristol set amidst a white and red light array formed with the help of the moon and the tower crane in the background (serving works at the adjacent ‘The Vincent’ development.
The building is among the country’s more celebrated eco houses and was designed by Daren Drage who founded Exedra Architects. It has been the subject of features in The Sunday Times, RIBA Journal and several other publications.
(Shot hand held at 1/15 sec, f2.8, ISO 3200.)
The remains of a Roman Building, thought to have been constructed around AD200, which sit at the junction of Roman Way and The Portway in Bristol.
The remains were excavated in 1934 and are believed to be part of a small Roman town called Abona on the site of what is now Sea Mills. Artefacts from the site and local area can be found at the M Shed museum and further information can be obtained via Bristol Museum & Art Gallery.
View down Johnny Ball Lane, Bristol looking in the direction of the city centre. The lane runs from Upper Maudlin Street (opposite the main entrance to the Bristol Royal Infirmary) to Narrow Lewins Mead, emerging close to David Blackhouse’s statue of the Cloaked Horseman and just around the corner from the famous Christmas Steps.
Formerly known as Bartholomew’s Lane, it is thought to have been named after a Bristol property owner called John a Ball. It is rich in history, has been a footpath for many years and land close by was once home to an early Roman settlement.
(A fascinating account of the Lane can be found at: https://richlyevocative.net/category/landscape/Bristol)
The entrance to Leonard Lane, off Small Street (BS1) in Bristol’s city centre, can seem a little foreboding. It’s easy to walk past but worth the short stroll along it towards Corn Street, not least because it is home to the Centrespace gallery which stages many intriguing exhibitions and frequently features local artists.
The striking facade of the Robinson’s Warehouse in Bathurst Parade (BS1). The building with its red and yellow brick arches is a fine example of the architectural style known as Bristol Byzantine. The former warehouse was built by William Bruce Gingell in 1874 and is Grade II Listed.
It is one of a number of examples of Bristol Byzantine architecture to be found around the city. Other prominent buildings include The Granary and the Colston Hall.
A gull flies free over the ruins of the gatehouse to Bristol’s ‘New Gaol’ on Cumberland Road (BS1). The gaol was commissioned in 1816 and opened in1820. It was damaged during the Bristol riots in 1831 and closed in 1883. It was replaced by Horfield Prison, built in 1884.
The remaining parts of the old entrance wall, perimeter and gateway are Grade II Listed.
People walk and drive past this building in Redcliffe Way, Bristol every day but may still not recognise the location as the birth place of, and site of the first school attended by, Thomas Chatterton. Born in 1752, Chatterton is regarded as the first romantic poet in English and was famously described by William Wordsworth as ‘the marvellous boy’.
Despite his talent, he did not prosper and died in a London garret in 1770 at the age of just 17. It has been generally accepted that he committed suicide by drinking arsenic. However, more recent research has suggested the death may possibly have been unintentional.
Latterly, Chatterton’s old house has become Chatterton’s Cafe.
A long exposure image looking across the River Avon towards Clifton. This viewpoint takes in the lower entrance to the old Clifton Rocks Railway (left); the Grade II* Listed Colonnade, built in 1786 (centre); and the Avon Gorge Hotel (top centre). In between, terraced gardens cascade down to the river.
A rainbow arches over Towerhirst, the striking Grade II Listed house near Seawalls, Durdham Down, Bristol.
The house was designed by architect, John Henry Hirst (born in Yorkshire but later practising in Bristol) to give views over the Avon Gorge. It dates back to the second half of the 19th Century (Circa 1860). Interesting features include an octagonal, half-timbered turret just visible above the roof line in this ‘phone image.
A green umbrella adds a splash of colour to the facade of No. 2 Royal York Crescent, Clifton, Bristol. The building is notable as the one time abode of Princess Eugenie, the woman who, as the wife of Napoleon III, later became Empress Eugenie of France.
The Crescent (1-46) is Grade II* Listed and was built between 1791 and 1820. Numbers 1-3 were the home of a boarding school up until 1855. Eugenie de Montijo, who became the Empress, studied fashion there in 1836.
The remaining houses (47-50) are Grade II Listed.
An exterior staircase serving B Bond warehouse in Bristol’s Cumberland Basin.
The Grade II Listed building dates back to 1906-8 and was built by William Cowlin & Sons. It was originally a bonded warehouse for tobacco. It is one of three similar warehouses built early in the 20th Century.
Today, B Bond is home to Bristol Record Office and the Create centre which is focused on sustainable development. It also now has an Eco home, added in 1996.
The Plimsoll swing bridge control tower above the Cumberland Basin, Bristol.
The road network above the lock entrance to the Cumberland Basin was built in the mid 1960s. The tower is used to co-ordinate bridge swings and road traffic flows as boats enter and leave the Basin and Floating Harbour.
A woman strolls along the northern bank of the Cumberland Basin with colourful Bristol houses in the distance.
The Basin was built in the early 1800s (work began in 1804). It provides a lock at the entrance to the Floating Harbour and can accommodate several boats at busy times. The Basin walls and bollards are Listed.
A thatching specialist at work in November 2017 replacing the roof on The Old Lodge in Henleaze, Bristol. Built around 1810, the property was originally a lodge house for the one time Henleaze Park. The local landmark is Grade II Listed.
A Landau carriage awaits passengers outside the entrance to Ashton Court mansion, Bristol.
The location has been the site of a mansion house since the 11th Century. Over the years, it has served many purposes including a military hospital, transit camp and a venue for the Royal Show. Prior to its purchase by Bristol City Council in 1959 it had fallen into disrepair. Now a Grade 1 Listed building, it boasts an intriguing mix of architectural styles.
Brightly coloured houses on St Michael’s Hill, Bristol demand the attention of passers-by. The properties date back to the 17th Century. In the background is the tower of St Michael on the Mount Without. The church is first recorded in the 12th Century. It has been disused since 1999.
The Colston’s Almshouses building on St Michael’s Hill, Bristol dates back to 1691 and is Grade 1 Listed.
The two storey, limestone building incorporates 12 flats.
The Cabot Tower in Bristol catches a little winter light on a gloomy January day.
The 105 ft high Tower, on Brandon Hill, was built in 1897 to commemorate the four hundredth anniversary of John Cabot’s crossing from Bristol to North America.
The Grade I Listed Black Castle on Junction Road in Brislington, Bristol.
The castle dates back to 1745. It was built for businessman William Reeve and is a folly that included offices and recreation spaces. It is built using copper-slag blocks. Many of the carvings are thought to have come from old medieval gateways in the city.
Today, the building is a public house.
Looking down from the Wills Memorial tower towards The Triangle, the top of Park Street and Queens Road, Bristol.
A visit to the top of the tower features on the University of Bristol’s Wills Memorial tour, offered to the public on a regular basis. The modest £5 tour cost goes towards Wallace & Gromit’s Grand Appeal.
Ancient and modern counterpoint: The tiered tower of St Paul’s Church, which dates back to the 1790s, appears to rise from the striking red facade of a much more recent addition to the local architecture, when viewed from Newfoundland Road, Bristol.
The Church, in Portland Square, is Grade I Listed and was designed by Daniel Hague. It closed as a church in 1988 but remains the responsibility of the Churches Conservation Trust. It was converted in 2005 to become the home of the Circomedia circus school. The building won an international RICS Community Benefit Award in 2007.
A boarded and sad looking church of St Michael On The Mount Without in Bristol. The original church on this site dated back to Norman times. There were various additions before all but the tower was demolished and the church rebuilt in the 1760s.
The building, on St Michael’s Hill, was bombed in 1941 but repaired. It closed in 1999 and the roof collapsed in 2016 following a fire.
There is, however, new hope for the structure with plans announced in April 2018 to bring it back to life as a museum and events venue.
The covered dry dock on Albion Dockyard, Bristol. The 540 ft long Grade II Listed dock was built in 1820 and has a capacity of 350 tonnes.
The dry dock was operated by shipbuilder David Abels from 1980 until his retirement in 2016. Following a period of uncertainty about its future, the dock is now being operated through a partnership between SS Great Britain Trust and Bristol City Council, working alongside the Albion Dock Company.
Spectators take advantage of the viewpoint at Clifton Observatory, Bristol to look out across the Avon Gorge during the 2018 Bristol International Balloon Fiesta.
The Observatory was originally built in 1766 as a windmill for grinding corn. It was subsequently used to grind snuff. Following a fire in 1777, it was derelict for 52 years. The Observatory was created by William West, an artist who used the building as his studio. He installed the camera obscura in 1829.
West built the tunnel from the Observatory to St Vincent’s Cave, 90 feet below the top of the cliff.
The Observatory, which today also houses a cafe, is Grade II* Listed.
Castlemead rises above the Cabot Circus shoppers’ car park. Currently the tallest high rise office building in Bristol, Castlemead is 80 metres high.
It was designed by AJ Hines and was built between 1973 and 1981. The building has 18 storeys.
The spire of St Nicholas Church viewed from Castle Bridge in Bristol.
The first church on the site dated back to 1154. It was rebuilt between 1762 and 1769. Much the interior was destroyed in the Bristol Blitz, with the structure being rebuilt again in 1974-75 as a church museum. It closed in 2007 and was then used as City Council offices. At the beginning of 2018 it was announced it would re-open as a church. The first service for 60 years was held at the beginning of December 2018.
The building is Grade II* Listed.
The iconic Brooks Dye Works chimney with a little added ‘dye’ in deference to its past. The chimney rises above St Werburghs, Bristol.
Today, it is set to become the centrepiece of a new housing development by Acorn Property Group. However, the Dye Works dates back to 1862 when it was established by the Brooks family. As well as dying clothes, the business at one time cleaned blankets and also offered a dry cleaning service from shops around Bristol. Brooks Dye Works continued as a family business until 1997 when Simon Brooks, the great, great grandson of the founder retired.
Two Bristol buildings carrying the ‘Colston’ name. The Colston Hall concert venue dates back to 1867 but has been modified and redeveloped several times since then, including the construction of the striking new foyer (pictured). Following major renovations, currently underway (Feb, 2019), the Hall will be given a new name reflecting modern concerns about the association with Edward Colston who, although a major city benefactor, was a slave trader.
The 63 metre high Colston Tower was completed in 1973 and includes 15 floors of office accommodation.
One of Bristol’s more colourful building facades seems to glow in early evening light. These offices sit below the city’s Shot Tower in Cheese Lane and look out across the river.
Evening light falling on the Shot Tower in Cheese Lane, Bristol. Built in 1969, the tower is 43 metres high and was originally used to make lead shot. Now available to hire, the tower, also known as ‘Vertigo’, is Grade 11 Listed.
Vibrant colours on the elevations of one of the striking properties at Ashley Vale Yard, St Werburgh’s, Bristol. The Yard is a community self-build project with around 40 homes and a number of eye-catching properties. Included among them is one Gaudiesque home, reminiscent of the designs by the great architect to be found in Barcelona.
Fry’s House of Mercy on Colston Parade, Redcliffe, Bristol, BS1. Located opposite St Mary Redcliffe, the Grade II Listed almshouse was founded in 1778 and completed in 1784. It was endowed by local distiller William Fry to provide accommodation for 12 widows.
The remains of St Raphael’s Church contrast with the walls of the adjacent modern flats on Cumberland Road, Bristol. The church dates back to the mid-19th Century. The rest of the church was demolished in 1954.
A section of the Moxy Hotel, Bristol facade which offers some architectural interest. Located on Newfoundland Street, it is clad in Cor-Ten weathering steel which retains its appearance and requires no painting. The geometric design creates changing light and shadows as the day progresses.
The ruins of St Peter’s Church in Castle Park Bristol, with the modern Castle Park View development visible behind. The church, mainly built in the 15th Century, was bombed 24-25 November 1940. The structure is Grade II Listed.
