Features / Castle Park
Could the only part of Bristol Castle that survives above ground be brought back to life?
Unlike other UK towns and cities such as Nottingham, Newport and Warwick, the remains of Bristol’s medieval castle are all but gone.
If you know where to look in Castle Park, traces can be found including the sally port and some old walls. But for the main part, the once mighty Bristol Castle has been lost.
A castle existed in Bristol from at least 1088 and by the 1200s it was one of England’s largest royal fortresses.
is needed now More than ever
The only part of Bristol Castle that survives above ground are the vaulted chambers, the ceilings of which are formed by a series of interconnecting carved stone arches over two rooms.
The building, probably once the entrance to the castle’s great hall, could one day in the not too distant future be brought back into use.
Paul Smith, cabinet member for housing, recently tweeted that the vaulted chambers might become a cafe or restaurant.
The vaulted chambers can be found in the corner of Castle Park closest to Old Market
A Bristol City Council spokesperson told Bristol24/7: “We know people are interested in this building, and we have aspirations to bring it back into use.
“We are currently considering our options, and at this stage, no decisions have been made.
“The building is a scheduled monument, so very careful consideration is needed before it could be turned into any kind of public space, and structural work would also be required.”
The vaulted chambers were probably once the entrance to the great hall of Bristol Castle
In 1480, William Worcestre in The Topography of Medieval Bristol wrote that most of the castle buildings were in a state of disrepair.
He described the great hall as “formerly splendid in length, width and height is wholly ruinous”.
In the 1660s, the vaulted chambers – one of the few castle buildings to escape demolition – was incorporated into a new house on the corner of Tower Street and Castle Street.
A watercolour by Hugh O’Neill in 1821 showing the interior of the vaulted chambers – courtesy of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
A watercolour by Samuel Jackson in 1822 showing men working on the Tower Street frontage of the vaulted chambers – courtesy of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
During the Victorian era, Castle Street was Bristol’s main high street, full of shops and traders.
By the early 1900s, Sealey Brothers occupied the vaulted chambers building. It was let to Boots the chemist in the 1930s.
The major bombing raid on November 24 1940 devastated the entire area but it was only in the 1970s when all traces of Castle Street were swept away when Castle Park was created.
The rear of the vaulted chambers is blighted by tagging, despite the building being a Scheduled Ancient Monument
The UK has around 20,000 scheduled monuments of national importance, including Roman remains, burial mounds, castles, bridges, earthworks, the remains of deserted villages and industrial sites
Read more: 22 things you probably didn’t know about Castle Park
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