Broadmead is a street in the central area 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 ...

, England, which has given its name to the principal shopping district of the city. It is part of Bristol Shopping Quarter.

History

The name of the street was first recorded in 1383 as ''Brodemede''. The name either means "broad meadow" or refers to ''brodemedes'', a type of woollen cloth woven only in Bristol. The area lay just to the north of the town walls of the historic Bristol. In about 1227

Blackfriars Blackfriars, derived from Black Friars, a common name for the Dominican Order of friars, may refer to: England * Blackfriars, Bristol, a former priory in Bristol * Blackfriars, Canterbury, a former monastery in Kent * Blackfriars, Gloucester, a f ...

was founded as a Dominican priory in the area. After the dissolution of the monasteries the site had various secular uses, and in 1749 became the location of a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

meeting house, now known as

Quakers Friars Quakers Friars () is a historic building in Broadmead, Bristol, England. The site is the remains of a Dominican friary, Blackfriars that was established by Maurice de Gaunt, c. 1227. Llywelyn ap Dafydd the eldest son and heir of Dafydd ap Gruf ...

. In 1671 local dissenters opened the

Broadmead Baptist Chapel Broadmead Baptist Church is a Baptist church in the Broadmead area of Bristol, England. The church was the first dissenting church in Bristol, founded by Dorothy Hazard and four other dissenters in 1640. In its early years the church was persec ...

near the junction of Broadmead and Union Street. In 1739

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...

built his

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

chapel, known as the New Room, in the street. Shops were also built in the area. In the 18th century a covered arcade was built between Horsefair and Broadmead, which still survives. St James' Priory, founded 1129, is northwest of Broadmead and Castle Park, the site of the Norman Bristol Castle, is to the south. When the old shopping district of Castle Street and Wine Street was heavily damaged in the Bristol Blitz, it was decided to redevelop the Broadmead area as the main shopping district of the city. Rebuilding began in 1950. The existing street, which ran between Union Street and Merchant Street, was extended north to include the former Rosemary Street.Reece Winstone (1967) ''Bristol Today'' photos 101ff Like most 1950s buildings in Britain, affordable and architecturally interesting utilitarian buildings form the bulk of the Broadmead area. In the 1980s some of these were destroyed to make way for the Galleries shopping centre, which is a three level covered street. Broadmead and several of the surrounding streets were pedestrianised.

Broadmead today

A regeneration project for Broadmead finished about 2010. The shopping area has been extended over the central ring road to produce a new shopping centre, Cabot Circus, which opened in September 2008. This area had been named Merchants Quarter but in April 2006 the name was abandoned after a campaign claiming the name was offensive because it was the Bristol

Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which funded the voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a monopoly on sea trading ...

who dealt in the trade of African slaves. In 1987, the shopping centre was the scene of an abduction that received national attention. On 8 October 1987, 29-year-old newly-wed Shirley Banks was abducted by serial killer

John Cannan John David Guise Cannan (born 20 February 1954) is a British murderer, serial rapist, serial abductor and suspected serial killer. A former car salesman, Cannan was convicted in July 1988 of murder and multiple sexual offences, abductions and ...

as she walked back to her car. Her body was found on Easter Day 1988. Cannan was convicted of her abduction and murder. A business improvement district (BID) was established for Broadmead in 2005, with a current plan that extends to 2023. In 2021, flagship shop Debenhams closed following the chain's bankruptcy, and the closure of the

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

branch was announced for January 2022.

Public Transport

Broadmead is served by various bus services and is immediately south of

Bristol bus station Bristol Bus and Coach Station serves the city of Bristol in the west of England. It is situated on Marlborough Street, near the Broadmead shopping area. The original bus station and onsite depot were opened in 1958 by the Bristol Omnibus Compan ...

. Bristol Temple Meads station is about half a mile south east.

References

External links

Broadmead BID websiteBristol Shopping Quarter website
{{coord, 51.457, -2.588, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Areas of Bristol Streets in Bristol Shopping streets in Bristol