High Street, Bristol
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

High Street, together with Wine Street, Broad Street and
Corn Street Corn Street, together with Broad Street, Wine Street and High Street, is one of the four cross streets which met at the Bristol High Cross, the heart of Bristol, England when it was a walled medieval town. From this crossroads Corn Street a ...
, is one of the four cross streets which met at the carfax, later the site of the
Bristol High Cross Bristol High Cross is a monumental market cross said to have been erected c.1373 in the centre of Bristol, England, to commemorate the granting of a charter by Edward III of England, Edward III to make Bristol a county, separate from Somerset an ...
, the heart of
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
when it was a walled medieval town. From this crossroads High Street runs downhill south-east to
Bristol Bridge Bristol Bridge is a bridge over the floating harbour in Bristol, England. The floating harbour was constructed on the original course of the River Avon, and there has been a bridge on the site since long before the harbour was created by imp ...
, a distance of approximately 155m. Once an important shopping street, wartime destruction and post-war planning have left High Street shabby and a constraint on pedestrian movement between the Old City and Castle Park. Bristol City Council are now seeking to redevelop the area to repair this.


History

High Street, together with Corn Street, Broad Street and Wine Street, formed the earliest nucleus of Bristol. It is shown clearly on Ricart's Plan, one of the first English town plans, with the High Cross at its top and St Nicholas Church (which then incorporated the town's southern gate) at its foot. The street appears to have changed little by the time Millerd's ''Citty of Bristoll'' map was published in 1673. In 1747 the
cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...
collided with a cart while passing through St Nicholas Gate on his way to a preaching engagement, and was shot over his horse's head 'as an arrow from a bow'. Neither man nor horse were hurt. It was clear however that improvement was needed, and in 1760 a bill was passed through parliament primarily to replace Bristol Bridge, but also allowing for the removal of St Nicholas Gate and the rebuilding of the church. During these works the gradient of High Street was reduced. Puritan diarist Nehemiah Wallington describes Bristol Bridge and High Street in the 17th century as containing the chief shops of mercers, silkmen and linen drapers. Those who could not get premises on the bridge, which at that time was lined with shops, considered High Street the next best location. By the mid-19th century shop fronts lined the slope of High Street, and development continued into the 20th century. Thomas Jones, the Pembrokeshire draper whose department store eventually became part of the
Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain that operated in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, as well as franchised locations across Europe and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and gr ...
group, acquired three shops on High Street, ten on Wine Street and three on Mary le Port Street. In the 1920s the firm even tried to buy the landmark
Dutch House Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 125–135 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including B ...
which stood on the corner of High Street and Wine Street; when that bid failed the firm embarked on a modernisation programme which was almost complete by 1940. The majority of buildings on the east side of High Street were destroyed by
aerial bombing An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...
on 24 November 1940. St Nicholas Church, also damaged by bombing, was subsequently repaired and brought back into use. After the war, Bristol's shopping centre was moved to
Broadmead Broadmead is a street in Bristol city centre 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 ''Brodem ...
. In 1963 the few remaining buildings on the east side of High Street were demolished, the street was widened, and its junction with Wine Street was turned into a short dual carriageway which diverted traffic away from the original crossroads with Corn Street and Broad Street. Post-war plans to build a riverside hotel and exhibition centre on High Street were quietly dropped on cost grounds, and new premises for the
Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
and the Norwich Union Insurance Company were built in their place.


High Street today

High Street forms part of the main north–south route through the Old City. Following its postwar widening, High Street and its junction with Wine Street constrain pedestrian movement between these streets and Castle Park. The east side of High Street 'has a lax, dissipated air, its former tension bled away on expanses of shabby paving'.
Bristol City Council Bristol City Council is the local authority for the city of Bristol, in South West England. Bristol has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority, being ...
is seeking redevelopment of this area, to help connect the markets area with the shopping quarter at
Broadmead Broadmead is a street in Bristol city centre 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 ''Brodem ...
. This would include reducing High Street to more closely resemble its historic proportions. The redevelopment of this area 'offer perhaps the greatest potential of any site in the city to demonstrate the ambition of Bristol and to realise a connected and coherent historic core'. High Street is within the Old City and Queen Square
Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...
.


Sites of interest

* St Nicholas Church stands at the lower end of High Street near Bristol Bridge. Originally founded before 1154, the church was rebuilt in the 1760s and restored in the 1970s following bomb damage 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 ea ...
. * Opposite the end of St Nicholas Street two vaulted mediaeval cellars survive on the east side of the street, accessed through an unmarked doorway. * St Nicholas Market stands opposite the former junction of Mary le Port Street.


Listed buildings

High Street has several
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s: High Street uses a clockwise-consecutive
house numbering House numbering is the system of giving a unique number to each building in a street or area, with the intention of making it easier to locate a particular building. The house number is often part of a Address (geography), postal address. The ter ...
system, so No.1 was opposite No.49.


Gallery

Image:The Dutch House, Bristol 1931.jpg, The Dutch House in 1931. Image:High Street, Bristol, viewed from Bristol Bridge.jpg, High Street, viewed from Bristol Bridge. Image:St Nicholas' Church, Bristol, BRO Picbox-2-BSt-91a, 1250x1250.jpg, Bristol's Front Door: High Street and Bristol Bridge, c1900 Image:Entry to vaults on High Street, Bristol.jpg, Entrance to mediaeval vaults. Image:St Nicholas House, High Street, Bristol.jpg, St Nicholas House.


References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Streets in Bristol History of Bristol