12 Nov 2020
My goal is walk down every public road within a mile of me; sometimes it's not easy to tell what's public. I've passed the turning for Cornwallis Grove a thousand times, but never had a reason to venture down it, and although the street signs at the end seem to be council-deployed and I didn't spot any "private" signs, it's a gated road and definitely feels private.
Gathering all the white middle-class privilege I could muster, I wandered down and was rewarded with the sight of a Victorian pump, a statue of Jesus, and from the end of the road, a view of a private garden that once belonged to a private girls' school.
The Cornwallis House history page says:
In the early 20th century the house, together with Grove House, became a Catholic school, St Joseph’s High School for Girls.
The Congregation of La Retraite took over the school in 1924, with the nuns living in Grove House while the schoolrooms were
in Cornwallis House. The headmistress was Mother St Paul de la Croix (Sister Paula Yerby). By the 1970s La Retraite High
School had around 700 pupils.It closed in 1982 and the building was bought by Pearce Homes Ltd (now part of Crest Nicholson) who developed it into 21
flats. Grove House next door was bought by the Bristol Cancer Help Centre, and was later converted into flats in 2007.
As you would expect, there's quite a lot of nursing homes in Clifton.
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26 Nov 2020
I took the day off my day job to do my accounts—or at least do enough bookkeeping to send them to my accountant. I hate doing the books. I woke up late, tired and with a headache and decided to bunk off for a walk around Cliftonwood, Clifton Village and Clifton instead, taking in a couple of good coffees along the way. Thanks, Foliage Café, and Twelve for the flat whites.
The Hillsborough Flats are a lot prettier from the back than their frontage on the Hotwell Road suggests, I think.
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03 Jul 2021
I was headed into town to return RA Gilbert's biography of AE Waite to the library and along the way I noticed that Dreadnought had finished their refurbishment, but wouldn't be open until midday. That left me some time to kill, so I bimbled around the old St Augustine's/Gaunt's area for a while, then headed up Park Street for a coffee and a snack to eat on Brandon Hill before heading home the way I'd came so I could pop in and buy a pamphlet on the Hot Well I'd been interested in for a while.
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21 Dec 2020
Despite the weather, Sarah and Vik and I wandered around Ashton Court a bit as the sun rose. Not that you could really tell. Sadly, the bit we wanted to watch the sunrise from was closed, because people hadn't been treating the deer with appropriate respect. Ah well, at least it was some exercise.
Apparenlty this part of festival way has been named Daveside. I wonder who Dave is?
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16 Mar 2021
I wanted a nice simple lunch-hour walk that took me past a cafe today, and I managed to find the perfect road to knock off my list of targets to do it. Situated just off Jacobs Wells Road, right next to Queen Elizabeth's Hospital, John Carr's Terrace, and Rosebery terrace above it, which I'd completely forgotten existed, are a little cul-de-sac that many Bristolians will have wandered past a thousand times without ever seeing.
There's a reason it's next to QEH:
Known traditionally as "The City School", Queen Elizabeth's Hospital was founded by the will of affluent merchant John Carr in 1586, gaining its first royal charter in 1590.
John Carr's terrace itself isn't much to write home about, architecturally, but I like the secluded feel of it, and I really liked Rosebery Terrace with its little houses, commanding position and friendly, slightly tumbledown feel.
On the way home I popped into Foliage Cafe for a coffee and a very pleasant nutella and banana pastry, then walked home past the refurbishment of the old Thali Cafe into a new and interesting clinic...
Now the well house seems to have stopped overflowing and the sign board is no longer cordoned off, it's time for a closer look. Lots of good info here.
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31 Jul 2021
At the end of July I went to have a look around some of the private gardens opened up by the annual Green Squares and Secret Gardens event. Sadly it was compressed into a single day this year, for various Covid-related reasons, it seems, so I didn't get to poke around too many places. I went to:
And snapped a few things in between, too. It was a lovely day—a bit too hot, if anything—and it was interesting to get into a few places I'd only ever seen from the outside, especially The Paragon and Cornwallis gardens, which are the least visible to passing strangers of all of them.
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Text Recognition Tags: Cornwallis Crescent (West) G5SG - 31.07.2021 Welome-ease teel tree to wander round the garden and woodland Comwal Crescnta home to wel er 150 u. ng in 85 h holds cangng fromente huse to mesty sin oor tats-a larcry fron the originaly olanned 31 households Itnot at the demugraphi prute whch has changed, there na cane forsuggesting that the Crescent sureetly enjoyru a perod efunerecedemad ke, cae and attention fm the pret generation of reutents, Read o. The ongnal plan pronatly by AIta Pay as tor a mplete shullew cresmtol 4hes Work begat a1791, buc akeady the gret spetidative bukdng boo of the perkidwas beginnirg e colapie resaurs become scar, lons had to ome by as finwnciers and buiders were edered boninatnd the debide wan completed wiiti the decteration of war wth France in Bding work vtopped with i tal houne in vanous states of complenn The area inust have arpeaet etroordinary to ute hom this ommentaryof R07 1do noe ecalect mone melhoy oectace westem enros of ms citwamot avofuts are so none than a wok oea d dou t gh tre sent and folng nouses n andesd Theraher meal, with loass on unfinished hauses stit beng gramed an l The Cressent then proably enjoved a hart heydaythough Alan yder's briet testory shows that many f the houses had fong untannted periods dne thied of the houses in the wntern taif atood empty at the time of the I51 census for instance, and the stuation is itle better ty L89L with fiet of the twenty three houses untenarted ind a further thres inhabited only by cartaken The problem of coure was tht many of the buidings were owned hy sentee lindhordi-some of whom tad itle interest in mntaiing them let alone imeroving propress was pite them Nan goes on to show tw y the early twmtleth contury undatian hod beyan to rake to Ang with much of ctor the Cescnt was to beame by the middle of the cntury an anw d cheap maaned odgings reachng eadr in 136 tem he oty cdund proposed to demalah itin prer to bda block of huh-e Datir Comwalh Crescont survtaed-and gadualya nee gonration of residents mode the finsl uarter of the twentieth century perkod of rapid change and runewis for the Crescent. The widespread derekction so evident in the earker part of the oury was gradualy reversed an, house by house Hat ly fat the procs of restoration and renovation changed the Crescent boch inside and mut The Garden Hdden tehind the Crestent's buidings and thigh boundary wal, the gurden is aw a surpriee to wstars. it's the best part of an acre, faces dje south and is shettered from the north-making tideal for terder plants and sun warshippers alte It consists of three laur, two of witsch used to be terns courts and the woods whih slope steeply soun to the bundary wal on Polypon Lane. Our longmt-standing resident. Myrtle Way ememten ter beng played in the tne 1950, though less famaly, one imagines, than in 1906 when the Comwalts Tenni Clit wa fanned Cornwallis Crescent (West) G5SG - 31.07.2021 Welome-ease teel tree to wander round the garden and woodland Comwal Crescnta home to wel er 150 u. ng in 85 h holds cangng fromente huse to mesty sin oor tats-a larcry fron the originaly olanned 31 households Itnot at the demugraphi prute whch has changed, there na cane forsuggesting that the Crescent sureetly enjoyru a perod efunerecedemad ke, cae and attention fm the pret generation of reutents, Read o. The ongnal plan pronatly by AIta Pay as tor a mplete shullew cresmtol 4hes Work begat a1791, buc akeady the gret spetidative bukdng boo of the perkidwas beginnirg e colapie resaurs become scar, lons had to ome by as finwnciers and buiders were edered boninatnd the debide wan completed wiiti the decteration of war wth France in Bding work vtopped with i tal houne in vanous states of complenn The area inust have arpeaet etroordinary to ute hom this ommentaryof R07 1do noe ecalect mone melhoy oectace westem enros of ms citwamot avofuts are so none than a wok oea d dou t gh tre sent and folng nouses n andesd Theraher meal, with loass on unfinished hauses stit beng gramed an l The Cressent then proably enjoved a hart heydaythough Alan yder's briet testory shows that many f the houses had fong untannted periods dne thied of the houses in the wntern taif atood empty at the time of the I51 census for instance, and the stuation is itle better ty L89L with fiet of the twenty three houses untenarted ind a further thres inhabited only by cartaken The problem of coure was tht many of the buidings were owned hy sentee lindhordi-some of whom tad itle interest in mntaiing them let alone imeroving propress was pite them Nan goes on to show tw y the early twmtleth contury undatian hod beyan to rake to Ang with much of ctor the Cescnt was to beame by the middle of the cntury an anw d cheap maaned odgings reachng eadr in 136 tem he oty cdund proposed to demalah itin prer to bda block of huh-e Datir Comwalh Crescont survtaed-and gadualya nee gonration of residents mode the finsl uarter of the twentieth century perkod of rapid change and runewis for the Crescent. The widespread derekction so evident in the earker part of the oury was gradualy reversed an, house by house Hat ly fat the procs of restoration and renovation changed the Crescent boch inside and mut The Garden Hdden tehind the Crestent's buidings and thigh boundary wal, the gurden is aw a surpriee to wstars. it's the best part of an acre, faces dje south and is shettered from the north-making tideal for terder plants and sun warshippers alte It consists of three laur, two of witsch used to be terns courts and the woods whih slope steeply soun to the bundary wal on Polypon Lane. Our longmt-standing resident. Myrtle Way ememten ter beng played in the tne 1950, though less famaly, one imagines, than in 1906 when the Comwalts Tenni Clit wa fanned
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Text Recognition Tags: The Polygon communal garden- an update Welcome! Regular visitors and passers-by wili notice three big changes in the Polvgon communai garden this year. 1. The cherry tree at the west side has been felied (to give neighbours more light) and replaced with a slow growing Frosted Thorn. This should bear berries and provide good autumn colour. We have been busy planting perennials around the tree, although soil depth is stil limited by roots. To that end, we are mulching with compost and putting in smaller plants that we hope wil establish and grow well. 2. We are trying out a 'no mow policy in parts of the garden so we can see what plants arrive. You wil see that we have cut paths round the beds, and up to the sitting and compost areas for ease of access. So far, the most notable arrivals have been yamow, ragwort (which supports the cinnabar moth caterpiliar), red campion, yelow rattie, cranesbill and corn cockle. 3. We also took the plunge and established a pond where the oid firepit was situated up by the sitting area The pond has a population of frogs and water snails and we have spotted one dragon By so far but are hoping for more We have put in a solar powered aerator to keep the water ovygenated. Wildflower seeds around the pend took well and we have had a great crop of poppies. We weicome wildife: tawny owis, poistrelle bats, many butterflies, honey and bumble bees and a wide variety of birds goldfinch, dunnock, great spatted woodpecker. Plus foxes and the occasional badger. We hope you enjoy our garden. Apologies for the leck of refreshments, but many people are away so we are not up to speed. Next year, we hope to be back in full swing with refreshments, including Polvgon elderfiower cordial and home baked cakes. The Polygon communal garden- an update Welcome! Regular visitors and passers-by wili notice three big changes in the Polvgon communai garden this year. 1. The cherry tree at the west side has been felied (to give neighbours more light) and replaced with a slow growing Frosted Thorn. This should bear berries and provide good autumn colour. We have been busy planting perennials around the tree, although soil depth is stil limited by roots. To that end, we are mulching with compost and putting in smaller plants that we hope wil establish and grow well. 2. We are trying out a 'no mow policy in parts of the garden so we can see what plants arrive. You wil see that we have cut paths round the beds, and up to the sitting and compost areas for ease of access. So far, the most notable arrivals have been yamow, ragwort (which supports the cinnabar moth caterpiliar), red campion, yelow rattie, cranesbill and corn cockle. 3. We also took the plunge and established a pond where the oid firepit was situated up by the sitting area The pond has a population of frogs and water snails and we have spotted one dragon By so far but are hoping for more We have put in a solar powered aerator to keep the water ovygenated. Wildflower seeds around the pend took well and we have had a great crop of poppies. We weicome wildife: tawny owis, poistrelle bats, many butterflies, honey and bumble bees and a wide variety of birds goldfinch, dunnock, great spatted woodpecker. Plus foxes and the occasional badger. We hope you enjoy our garden. Apologies for the leck of refreshments, but many people are away so we are not up to speed. Next year, we hope to be back in full swing with refreshments, including Polvgon elderfiower cordial and home baked cakes.
21 Aug 2021
Lisa and I mostly went out to have a look at Luke Jerram's Museum of the Moon as its tour hit Bristol Cathedral—I missed it when it was previously in town, at Wills Hall, I think—but we also took a trek up to Redland. Lisa's kind enough to indulge my strange current fascination with the Edwardian eccentrics that made up the Stella Matutina, so we swung by a couple of places with a vague connection to the Bristol branch of the organisation. Well, it was good walking, anyway...
As a stunning bonus, one of the picture's descriptions has more information than you'd probably want on the Bristol Port Railway and Pier's Clifton Extension Railway line, but I did happen to coincidentally write up this wander after reading about the extension line during my lunch hour at work today. It's a thrilling life, I tell you...
"They afterwards built, in connexion with their convent, an asylum for the reception of about one hundred sick and aged poor, means for the maintenance of whom they obtained by soliciting alms from door to door"
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More from ChurchDB:
"The order was founded by St Jeanne Jugan, after she rescued two poverty-stricken elderly women from the streets of Paris during the French Revolution. The Sisters' work continues today, in providing care for the elderly - for an account of this, see the article Celebrating the Little Sisters with big hearts published in the Bristol Post on 15th October 2012, reporting on the celebration of 150 years of their work."
And even more on Wikipedia, of course...
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24 Sep 2021
A quick lunchtime jaunt to Clifton Village. Along the way I admired the new sign on Hope Chapel and added to my tsundoku collection.
I have since blogged about this little find in the boxes of books outside Rachel’s and Michael’s Antiques.
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Text Recognition Tags: E A.wilsure his book wan dauagd 16 tely 1941 as the result 1 eneg aitne hen us home at thoy Cothan Roed, Briital was rendered uinhatitable. A Awilsline. E A.wilsure his book wan dauagd 16 tely 1941 as the result 1 eneg aitne hen us home at thoy Cothan Roed, Briital was rendered uinhatitable. A Awilsline.
05 Nov 2021
I did do a much longer wander earlier in the week, but that'll take me some time to process (and cast a plethora of photos into the "out-takes" pile!) In the meantime, here's my lunchtime jaunt, taken to give myself a break from doing the company bookkeeping to send to my accountant so the taxman doesn't sling me in chokey.
I've recently bought a slightly creased secondhand copy of Redcliffe Press's 1992 collection of Samuel Loxton drawings, Loxton's Bristol: The city's Edwardian years in black and white. It's a nice selection of Bristol Library's collection of the drawings. I'd noticed a drawing of 25 Royal York Crescent, a house I pass quite often, so I thought I'd wander up the crescent on the way to pick up some lunch and try to reproduce it.
On the way back I took a few photos of Clifton Hill Bank as the crowdfunder to make quite a lot of it into a wildflower meadow has just hit its target, so I figured some "before" shots might be a good investment for the future...
Loxton drawing from Bristol Library collection via Loxton's Bristol, Redcliffe Press, 1995 ISBN 1 872971 86 5.
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Text Recognition Tags: य वय 25, Royal York Crescent Royal York Crescent was completed in 1820 and has been claimed as the longest crescent in Europe. Number 25 was the home of Sir Abraham Roberts (1784-1873) who served in India and was described as one of England's greatest generals. 13 य वय 25, Royal York Crescent Royal York Crescent was completed in 1820 and has been claimed as the longest crescent in Europe. Number 25 was the home of Sir Abraham Roberts (1784-1873) who served in India and was described as one of England's greatest generals. 13
The more I research it, the more I find that Hotwells had far better transport links back in Victorian and Edwardian times than it has today. Along with buses that went to more useful places than the City Centre, there were trams, the funicular up to Clifton, the landing stage for paddle steamer services and two railway stations all within easy walking distance of me.
Today I took a day off work as preparation for doing the bookkeeping for my tax return1, and took a wander along to the site of what would have been my nearest station, Hotwells (or Clifton, as it started out in life), nestled in the shadow of the suspension bridge, the Bristol terminus of the Bristol Port Railway and Pier.
From there I wandered down the Portway, following the original line, until I got to the area around Sneyd Park Junction, where the tunnel from the slightly later Clifton Extension Railway joined up with this originally-isolated BPR line. Then I headed up to Clifton through the "goat gully" at Walcombe Slade, seeing the few above-ground bits of evidence of the tunnel (which is still in regular use) along the way.
It was a lovely day, and a good walk, and it was interesting to daydream of the times when I could have walked a few minutes from my flat down to Dowry Parade, caught a short tram ride to Hotwells Stations, and then headed from there to Avonmouth, perhaps even to board a transatlantic passenger service. The completion of the Clifton Extension Railway that linked the Avonmouth station with Temple Meads made relatively direct transatlantic travel from London via Bristol possible, with passengers travelling up from Paddington to Temple Meads, on to Avonmouth on the Clifton Extension Railway and Port Railway and Pier line, then perhaps catching a Cambpell's paddle steamer—which sometimes acted as tenders for large steamers—to a larger ship that was headed out for Canada, say.
1 I've learned that the best approach is to take two days off and deliberately do something that's not my bookkeeping on the first day, as otherwise I just inevitably end up procrastinating and feeling guilty on the first day no matter what. I have an odd brain, but at least I'm learning strategies for dealing with its strange ways as I get older...
2 Information mostly gleaned from Colin Maggs' The Bristol Port Railway & Pier and the Clifton Extension Railway, The Oakwood Press, 1975.
I did not see hide nor hair of a single goat the entire time I was in the goat gully. I clearly need to spend a bit more time there.
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Text Recognition Tags: Goat news ... New Kashmir goats!!! Some new, young Kashmir goats have recently arrived in the Gully. They join our existing herd of two old Kashmir goats (the big white ones) and the four Bagot goats (the small brown and white ones). Please help us to help them settle into their new home by: Keeping your dog on a lead Not approaching them - Not feeding them. They have plenty of natural food - If you feed them they may become sick. Their job is to carry out vital conservation work by nibbling invasive scrub and bramble. By doing this they're helping to make space for rare plants like the Bristol onion and Bristol rock-cress to thrive. Both of these wild flowers grow nowhere else in the UK! www.avongorge.org.uk Goat news ... New Kashmir goats!!! Some new, young Kashmir goats have recently arrived in the Gully. They join our existing herd of two old Kashmir goats (the big white ones) and the four Bagot goats (the small brown and white ones). Please help us to help them settle into their new home by: Keeping your dog on a lead Not approaching them - Not feeding them. They have plenty of natural food - If you feed them they may become sick. Their job is to carry out vital conservation work by nibbling invasive scrub and bramble. By doing this they're helping to make space for rare plants like the Bristol onion and Bristol rock-cress to thrive. Both of these wild flowers grow nowhere else in the UK! www.avongorge.org.uk