The Wool Hall is a historic building in St Thomas Street, Redcliffe, Bristol. Originally built as a market hall, today it is home to The Fleece, a pub and live music venue.
History
The wool trade had been important in Bristol since the 11th century, but the smell generated by fullers softening wool in
urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...
meant the trade was banished from the city centre and relocated in Redcliffe.
The building was constructed in 1830 to house the city's wool market, as Bristol Bridge had become too congested by sheep farmers travelling across it. It was designed by Richard Shackleton Pope and has been described as "the first quasi-industrial building in Bristol to attempt a real architectural facade". It was designed in a classical style with a symmetrical front. Internally, the building included a Pennant-flagged ground floor and staircase. The ground floor served as a weighing house, while the upper floors were used for storage. The total cost was £4,400 (now £). The building was not a success since it was too far from the farmer's markets at Temple Meads, and the wool trade moved to the Corn Exchange in 1834.
The building survived the bombing of Bristol during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, unlike several nearby 17th-century buildings which were hit and subsequently demolished. In 1980, the building was modified to include new doors. The ground floor became a pub, while the upper floors were offices.
The Wool Hall was awarded
grade II 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, H ...
status by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
in 1975.
The Fleece
The Fleece was opened as a brewpub in 1982 by Firkin Brewery, originally named The Fleece and Firkin.
The Fleece became a 330-capacity venue for live music, hosting gigs by
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentPulp, Emeli Sande,
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...
and
Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...
.
After the Firkin Brewery brand passed through a number of pub companies, Mitchells & Butlers sold the lease in 2010 to Chris Sharp of the band The Blue Aeroplanes, who increased the venue's capacity to 450 and continues to operate it as an independent venture.