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 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 meeting house, now known as Quakers Friars. 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 Dorothy Hazard was a seventeenth-century English religious reformer who play ...

near the junction of Broadmead and Union Street. In 1739 John Wesley 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 ...

chapel, known as the New Room, in the street. Shops were also built in the area. In the 18th century a covered

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

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 Bristol Castle was a Norman castle built for the defence of Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port. Built during the reign of William the Conqueror, and later owned by Ro ...

, is to the south. When the old shopping district of Castle Street and Wine Street was heavily damaged in the

Bristol Blitz The Bristol Blitz was the heavy bombing of Bristol, England by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War. Due to the presence of Bristol Harbour and the Bristol Aeroplane Company, the city was a target for bombing and was easil ...

, 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 In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charac ...

buildings form the bulk of the Broadmead area. In the 1980s some of these were destroyed to make way for the

Galleries shopping centre The Galleries was a shopping complex in the town centre of Wigan, Greater Manchester owned by Wigan Council. It was divided into three sections formed from three formerly independent schemes: The Galleries Shopping Centre, Marketgate Shopping C ...

, 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 Cabot Circus is a covered shopping centre in Bristol, England. It is adjacent to Broadmead, a shopping district in Bristol city centre. The Cabot Circus development area contains shops, offices, a cinema, hotel and 250 apartments. It covers a tot ...

, 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 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 Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...

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 Comp ...

. 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