Bristol Byzantine is a variety of

Byzantine Revival architecture Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Orthod ...

that was popular in the 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 ...

from about 1850 to 1880. Many buildings in the style have been destroyed or demolished, but notable surviving examples include the

Colston Hall Bristol Beacon, previously known as Colston Hall, is a concert hall and Grade II listed building on Colston Street, Bristol, England. It is owned by Bristol City Council. Since 2011, management of the hall has been the direct responsibility of ...

, the

Granary A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animal ...

on Welsh Back, the Carriage Works on

Stokes Croft Stokes Croft is a road in Bristol, England. It is part of the A38, a main road north of the city centre. Locals refer to the area around the road by the same name. The road became a centre of industry during the mid-19th century, including the ...

and several of the buildings around Victoria Street. Several of the warehouses around the harbour have survived including the

Arnolfini Arnolfini is an international arts centre and gallery in Bristol, England. It has a programme of contemporary art exhibitions, artist's performance, music and dance events, poetry and book readings, talks, lectures and cinema. There is also a ...

, which now houses an art gallery. Clarks Wood Company warehouse and the

St Vincent's Works The St Vincent's Works is a former factory and offices at Silverthorne Lane in Bristol, England. The building was built as offices and factory by Thomas Royse Lysaght, for his brother John Lysaght of John Lysaght and Co. with the buildings bein ...

in Silverthorne Lane and the Wool Hall in St Thomas Street are other survivors from the 19th century.

Style

Bristol Byzantine has influences from

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and

Moorish architecture Moorish architecture is a style within Islamic architecture which developed in the western Islamic world, including al-Andalus (on the Iberian peninsula) and what is now Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia (part of the Maghreb). The term "Moorish" com ...

applied mainly to industrial buildings such as warehouses and factories. The style is characterised by a robust and simple outline, materials with character and coloured

polychrome brickwork Polychrome brickwork is a style of architectural brickwork wherein bricks of different colours are used to create decorative patterns or highlight architectural features in the walls of a building. Historically it was used in the late Gothic peri ...

including red, yellow, black and white brick primarily from the

Cattybrook Brickpit Cattybrook Brickpit is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Almondsbury, South Gloucestershire, SSSI notification, notified in 1989. It began as a clay pit and brickworks. History The Cattybrook Brick Company w ...

. Several buildings included archways and upper floors unified through either horizontal or vertical grouping of window openings. The first building with some of the characteristics generally thought of a Bristol Byzantine is Bush House, which is now known as the

a 19th-century Grade II*

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

warehouse situated on the side of the

Floating Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out per ...

Bristol city centre Bristol City Centre is the commercial, cultural and business centre of Bristol, England. It is the area north of the New Cut of the River Avon, bounded by Clifton Wood and Clifton to the north-west, Kingsdown and Cotham to the north, and S ...

. The architect was

Richard Shackleton Pope Richard Shackleton Pope (c. 1793 – 10 February 1884) was a British architect working mainly in Bristol. His father was a clerk of works for Sir Robert Smirke, and Pope succeeded him, also working for C.R. Cockerell. He moved to Bristol to ...

, who constructed first the south part of the warehouse (1831) then extended it to the north in 1835–36. It has a rock-faced plinth, three storeys of rectangular windows recessed within tall round arches, and a shallow attic. The style may have come about as a result of an acquaintance between

William Venn Gough William Venn Gough (1842–1918) was an architect responsible for a number of prominent buildings in Bristol. His works include the Cabot Tower, Colston's Girls' School (now Montpelier High School), Trinity Road Library, St Aldhelm's church ...

and Archibald Ponton, who designed the Granary and

John Addington Symonds John Addington Symonds, Jr. (; 5 October 1840 – 19 April 1893) was an English poet and literary critic. A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies of writers and artists. Although m ...

the Bristol-born historian of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

. The term Bristol Byzantine is thought to have been invented by Sir

John Summerson Sir John Newenham Summerson (25 November 1904 – 10 November 1992) was one of the leading British architectural historians of the 20th century. Early life John Summerson was born at Barnstead, Coniscliffe Road, Darlington. His grandfather wo ...

. File:Browns Restaurant - Bristol Byzantine.jpg, Browns Restaurant File:Victoria Court - Bristol byzantine.jpg, Victoria Court File:Robinsons Warehouse Bristol Byzantine.jpg, Robinsons Warehouse File:Granary, Welsh Back - Bristol Byzantine brickwork detail.jpg, Granary File:Robinsons Warehouse Bristol oblique.jpg, Robinson's Warehouse File:Arnolfini arts centre, Bristol, England arp.jpg, The Arnolfini arts centre, the first example of the Bristol Byzantine style.

Architects

* R. Milverton Drake * John Foster *

William Bruce Gingell William Bruce Gingell (1819–1899) was an architect practising in Bristol. He was in partnership with John Henry Hirst for a time and was influential in the Bristol Byzantine architectural style. Significant buildings * Gardiners warehou ...

Edward William Godwin Edward William Godwin (26 May 1833, Bristol – 6 October 1886, London) was a progressive English architect-designer, who began his career working in the strongly polychromatic " Ruskinian Gothic" style of mid-Victorian Britain, inspired by ...

* John Henry Hirst * Thomas Royse Lysaght * Archibald Ponton *

Examples of buildings in the Byzantine architecture style

* 35 King Street (c. 1870) * Brown's Restaurant (1871) * Carriage Works (1862) * Clarks Wood Company warehouse (1863) *

(1860s) *

Former Gardiners offices The Former Gardiners offices () is on Old Bread Street, Bristol, England. It was built in 1865-7 by Foster and Wood and is an example of the Bristol Byzantine style. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II listed building. Ref ...

(1865–1867) *

Gardiners warehouse The Gardiners warehouse () is on Straight Street, Broad Plain, Bristol, England. It was built in 1865 by William Bruce Gingell and is an example of the Bristol Byzantine style. It was originally part of Christopher Thomas and Brothers' soap work ...

(1865) *

Granary, Bristol The Granary, also known as Wait and James' Granary, is a building on Welsh Back in the English city of Bristol. It was designed by Archibald Ponton and William Venn Gough in red Cattybrook brick, with black and white brick and limestone dress ...

(1869) * Robinson's Warehouse (1874) *

* Warehouse premises of Hardware (Bristol) Limited (1882) * Wool Hall, Bristol (1830) *

(1831)

References in modern culture

* "Bristol Byzantine" is the name of a track by

The Blue Aeroplanes The Blue Aeroplanes are an English rock band from Bristol, the mainstays of which have been Gerard Langley, brother John Langley, and dancer Wojtek Dmochowski. All three had previously been members of the New wave music, new wave "art band" Ar ...

on their 2006 album ''Altitude''.

References

{{Revivals . . Victorian architectural styles Architectural history 19th century in Bristol Moorish Revival architecture Brick buildings and structures Neo-Byzantine architecture

Style

Architects

Examples of buildings in the Byzantine architecture style

References in modern culture

See also

References