Tyndall's Park is an area of central

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. It lies north of Park Row and Queen's Road, east of

Whiteladies Road Whiteladies Road is a main road in Bristol, England. It runs north from the Victoria Rooms to Durdham Down, and separates Clifton on the west side from Redland and Cotham on the east. It forms part of the A4018. Significant buildings on W ...

and west of St Michael's Hill, between the districts of

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

, Cotham and Kingsdown. It includes the campus of

Bristol Grammar School Bristol Grammar School (BGS) is a 4–18 mixed, independent day school in Bristol, England. It was founded in 1532 by Royal Charter for the teaching of 'good manners and literature', endowed by wealthy Bristol merchants Robert and Nicholas Thorn ...

, and many of the buildings of the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. The area is named after Thomas Tyndall, a Bristol merchant and investor in the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

who between 1753 and 1767 bought a number of fields which then existed in the area and turned them into an ornamental park. He built a stately house on the crest of the hill, on the site of a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

fortification, and named it Fort Royal (now known as Royal Fort House). In 1799 Tyndall's son Colonel Thomas Tyndall employed

Humphrey Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

to landscape the gardens. In 1825 and 1833, two roads (Aberdeen Road and West Park) were built in the north western corner of the park, and developed for housing. In 1852 the Tyndalls began selling off the remainder of the western half of the park for development, and in 1877 were sold for a new building for Bristol Grammar School. From 1880, more land was sold to

University College, Bristol University College, Bristol was an educational institution which existed from 1876 to 1909. It was the predecessor institution to the University of Bristol, which gained a royal charter in 1909. During its time the college mainly served the midd ...

. The Royal Fort was occupied by members of the Tyndall family until 1916, when

Henry Herbert Wills Henry Herbert 'Harry' Wills (20 March 1856 – 11 May 1922) was a businessman and philanthropist from Bristol, and a member of the Wills tobacco family. He was the son of Henry Overton Wills III and Alice Hopkinson and was born in Clifton, Brist ...

bought it and gave it to the University.

References

{{Bristol Areas of Bristol 1767 establishments in England