Remembering the Queen’s visits to Bristol

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, has died aged 96 at Balmoral, after reigning for 70 years.

With her death, her eldest son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, will lead the country in mourning as the new King.

Before and during her reign, Elizabeth made numerous visits to Bristol.

1950

When she was titled Princess Elizabeth, the 24-year-old made a visit to St Paul’s when she saw the Dockland Settlement Club and received a ‘chart’ from Homes of England from Audrey Taylor and Edward Brain.

It followed in the footsteps of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, who opened the club in 1927.

Now called Docklands Community Centre, the venue hosts a social enterprise which provides year-round youth services.

1956

On April 17 in 1956, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited Bristol on the royal barge, sailing up the Avon to mark the start of their visit to the West of England.

The route echoed a visit made by Queen Elizabeth I four centuries prior. They were greeted by the lord mayor of Bristol, alderman Harry Crook who died in 1970, and opened Bristol’s new council house, journeying from Prince Street Bridge to the Albion Dockyard.

They went on to visit Bath’s Guildhall and inaugurated the reservoir at Chew Valley.

1966

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip opened the Severn Bridge in September 1966. It was the main crossing over the River Severn for 30 years until the opening of the Second Severn Crossing.

1968

Queen Elizabeth II visited the University of Bristol’s school of veterinary sciences in 1968.

1977

The Queen and Prince Philip are here captured during a carriage procession in Bristol on the final day of a three-day jubilee tour of the West Country in 1977.

Large crowds met the couple with flowers and flags as they arrived in a Rolls Royce in the city centre. The royal visitors were showered with half a million rose petals too, collected from gardens in the city and dropped from a crane.

2005

Seventeen years ago, Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a plaque to name a train engine, Royal Sovereign, at Bristol Temple Meads Station during a one-day visit to our city on February 25.

The same year, the monarch unveiled a plaque at Bristol University to open the Bristol laboratories for advanced dynamics engineering.

She also headed to Knowle West to see the Park Community Centre and watched a hip-hop dance performance by some of its students.

2012

In her first visit to Bristol for seven years, hundreds of people braved wet and windy weather to catch a glimpse of the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen who visited to mark her diamond jubilee.

One of the locations they visited was The Gatehouse Centre in Hartcliffe, which helps hundreds of people find work and training.

She also made her first visit to Bristol Old Vic, where the theatre on King Street had just undergone a multi-million-pound restoration. There, she unveiled a plaque to commemorate her visit and the completion of the work and watched a performance of Peter Pan.

With her husband, she also went to the Bailey of Bristol caravan and motorhome manufacturers in Ashton. During their visit, the pair met the owners and staff before watching a short presentation on the history of Britain’s oldest independent manufacturer.

Main photo: British Pathé

Read next:

• 14 royal connections you didn’t know Bristol had
• Bristol post box gets the royal treatment
• Duke and Duchess pay surprise visit to St Paul’s charity
• Prince William visits Bristol to launch Mental Health at Work website

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