The Changing Face of Bristol & its People
Two photographs depicting the same view, one taken a period of time after the other, give us an instantaneous impression of ' then ' and 'now '. Some comparisons show old views that are instantly recognisable, where the natural passage of time and technology has made only slight changes. Other views illustrate major change and it can be difficult to comprehend that an area has altered so much. Unless you have lived through a change and can remember what was there before, there is often no reason to question what building was replaced or how the area functioned in the past.
BRISTOL THE AND NOW - REDCLIFF HILL - 1913 - 2001
THEN - Looking towards St Mary Redcliff Church from Bedminster Bridge - This part of Redcliff was a mix of shops and light industry with a myriad of old streets leading off to the right and left.
NOW - This is one Bristol street that has seen a total transformation mainly owing to the pressure of Bristol's traffic - Nothing of the original street remains modern blocks of high-rise flats have now replaced the shops and industrial buildings.
BRISTOL THEN AND NOW - TRINITY CHURCH - 1911 - 2001
THEN - This attractive church was built in 1829 as a response to the spiritual needs of the growing population in the St Phillips area - It could seat at least 2,000 people and was often full - The surrounding area soon became densely populated and was known as New Town.
NOW - Attitudes and lifestyles have changed and for many people the local church is no longer the spiritual centre of the community - But Trinity Church still serves the local population as a Community Arts Centre.
BRISTOL THEN & NOW - TRAMWAYS OFFICE - 1959 - 2004
WONDER just how many romances started after meeting under Bristol’s old Tramways Clock, the time-piece once at the heart of George White’s electric transport system? The mock Tudor facade to which it clings officially Nos. 1-3 St Augustine is a familiar landmark on the Centre even today.
It was the home of Bristol’s tram and bus company and its enquiry office from 1896 until 1978 when the doors were finally locked by Senior Inspector Jack Warren. The Inspector was then presented with the key by General Manager Ken Wellman to commemorate his 47 years with the company.
At the time Bristol Omnibus Company which was jointly owned by the City Council, was losing money hand over fist. The following year it lost an estimated £1 million. The old St. Augustine’s Place building had been the Registered Offices of the Company from 1935 until 1970, which is the year that it moved to the spanking new six-storey Berkeley House at Lawrence Bill.
Electric trains had started to take over from horse buses in 1895. The first line ran to St. George. The Centre which derives its name from the Tramways Centre, and which was known to the previous generation as The Drawbridge, (because of the narrow bridge which straddled a then uncovered River Frome) became the place where this transport was co-ordinated. An accurate, clearly visible clock, was, of course vital both for drivers and passengers. When charabancs became really popular in the 1920’s. taking trippers to such places as Cheddar Caves and the Wye Valley they would leave from under the clock.
Bristol’s 237 trains housed in seven depots around the city were phased out between 1938 and 1941 in favour of motorised buses. None was saved. The archival picture was taken in the summer of 1959. just a year after the “new bus station had opened near Broadmead for Express and Country services and two years since the name of the company had been changed from the old fashioned Bristol Tramways and Carriage Company to the new style Bristol Omnibus Company.
It was in July 1959 that ‘Day-Out’ tickets were introduced for the first time. allowing unlimited travel on all the company’s city and country services. It cost 10 shillings (5Op) and for this an ardent traveller starting very early in the morning could travel over 300 miles. Notice the advertisement for TWW (Television Wales and the West) the company that ran programmes in our area from 1957 until 1968. which is when HTV obtained the franchise.
BRISTOL THEN & NOW - TRAMWAYS CENTRE - NOV 1931 - JULY 2004
Bristol's Tramways Centre terminus (that's how the Centre got its name) to pick up passengers. These vehicles, which had done such sterling service since being introduced in 1895, were being phased out during the years leading up to the Second World war in favour of modern motor buses, which were seen as more flexible. One of them, in the photo illustrates, horses were still being employed to pull cartloads of goods about the city.
You'll notice that the Centre was a very busy place and operating its controversial one way system all those years ago. On the right to the very edge of the picture, you will spot some ornate balustrading. Below this are the murky and polluted waters of the River Frome and St Austine's Reach which was open dockland until covered over in 1938.
BRISTOL THEN & NOW - TOTTERDOWN - 1972 - 2004
The 'Then' picture, above, shows the Three Lamps junction at Totterdown taken in the summer of 1972 just before demolition work started on 400 blighted properties. With the small houses perched precariously on steeply-sloping land between the Bath and Wells roads, a tight-knit community had grown up here during Victorian times. Many of the men earned their livelihoods with the Great Western Railway at Temple Meads. With more than 40 shops and many pubs. the area matured into a little self-contained community in the 1920s and 30s.
But the planners just couldn't leave the area alone. In 1967 there was a public enquiry into the need for a new circular highway the outer-circuit road—which would take through traffic out of the centre of town. round the city and away to the Bath and Wells roads. Unfortunately a planned junction. a large high-level roundabout, sat in the middle of Totterdown and this meant many houses. and their residents, had to go.
It was very distressing, especially for the elderly who had been there all their lives, but by the end of 1973 a large area between Upper and Lower Totterdown right down to the river had been laid bare. The few survivors included the YMCA, some of the larger houses in Bushy Park, some pubs and the much-loved Harris and Tozers haberdashery shop.
Due to changing attitudes to the problems of traffic congestion and lack of funding. the planned road never got off the drawing board (except in Easton) but the area was blighted for years,eventually a new much reduced in scale road layout costing £2.5 million was built and by the 1980s, after new housing had closed the gap Totterdown started to recover.
Since then the area hasn’t looked back — a fact reflected in house prices and popularity. The listed Three Lamps junction open-work finger-post one of the finest in the county,was erected in 1830 at the junction of the main roads, it was removed in 1973 and put into storage only to be replaced 10 years later. Complete with its lamps. It still stands proud today.
Please feel free to add your own comments to the Guestbook or Forum
Memories of Bristol over the past 100 years including 3000 photographs on-line
This non commercial 'hobby' site, has been evolving and expanding on line since 2001 and is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only.
