Black Castle Public House is a Grade I-

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

and

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

on Junction Road in the

Brislington Brislington is an area in the south east of the city of Bristol, England. It is on the edge of Bristol and from Bath. Brislington Brook runs through the area in the woodlands of Nightingale Valley and St Anne's Wood. Brislington formerly hou ...

suburb of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

city of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. It is also known as Arno's Castle.

History

It was built in 1745—55 as a

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

in the form of a castle which incorporated office spaces and recreation rooms, but may have originally been a stable block and laundry for the lord of the manor. The building was probably designed by either William Halfpenny or

James Bridges James Bridges (February 3, 1936June 6, 1993) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and actor. He is a two-time Oscar nominee: once for Best Original Screenplay for '' The China Syndrome'' and once for Best Adapted Screenplay fo ...

, for the prominent local factory owner William Reeve of Mount Pleasant (now the Arno’s Court Hotel), from which it is separated by a major road junction. Reeve smelted brass and copper, and the Black Castle was built from blocks created from the waste slag.

Description

The Castle is built from pre-cast black

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

- slag blocks from Reeve's foundry at Crew's Hole. Designed in

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, the building is symmetrical in plan with

crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

circular towers at each corner that link two-storey blocks to form a square

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

. The front and back blocks have larger crenellated entrance towers with moulded archways through. Above the front arch is a blank panel with

ogee An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinat ...

head and a two-centre arch on the second storey with perpendicular tracery. The ranges to each side of the entrance have two windows with Y-tracery below a white string course and white carved inset panels. At the top of the ranges are light-coloured battlements with sunken panels. The front corner towers have external entrances with two-centred archways and above them are prominent white flushwork panels, some of which are in the shape of crosses while others mimic

arrow slits An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch Crossbow bolt, bolts ...

. A coach house extends from the right-hand corner tower at right angles to the main structure. It has a central two-centre archway front and back with similar small windows on both sides. Above the string course are round flushwork panels and the crenellated parapet is raised above the entrance. Much of the freestone carving and dressings supposedly came from the city's demolished medieval gateways and

St Werburghs St. Werburgh's is an area in north-east central Bristol, England. It is surrounded by the M32 motorway, railway embankments and allotment slopes. Geology The solid geology of St Werburghs comprises Triassic Redcliffe Sandstone to the south- ...

Church, rebuilt by

in 1758—61. The building has been designated by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

as a Grade I-listed building.

Arno's Court Triumphal Arch Arnos Court Triumphal Arch () is an 18th-century monument in Junction Road, Brislington, Bristol, England. Description The arch was built around 1760 by James Bridges, for William Reeve, a prominent local Quaker and businessman. It is buil ...

used to stand in front of the building, but was moved in 1912 to approximately 100 metres away.

History

Description

References

See also