The Golden Years
In the late eighteenth century, St Paul's became one of the first suburbs of Bristol. The wealthy industrialists of the city began to build houses there and the elegant Brunswick Square and Portland Square came into being. Members of the Wills family took up reside in Portland Square and, in 1787, work began on the construction of St Paul's church. It was consecrated in 1794 and could hold 1500 worshippers.
By the 1830s there was a population of 15,000 in the parish and, by the end of the decade, there were 16,000 taxable residents, with a further 900 in the out parish. Naturally schools, shops and more churches were called for to serve the growing needs of the area. St Paul's School was built in 1840, although it was not until 1914 that the church acquired its hall.
Bv the the beginning of the twentieth century, the area was densely populated and contained a glorious mixture of shops, factories, schools, public houses, churches and chapels, all of which stood cheek by jowl with residential properties. The district must have been very lively and full of exciting sights, smells and sounds.
The War and its Aftermath
Because of its proximity to the city centre, St Paul's suffered badly during the air raids of the Second World War, particularly during the April bombardment of 1941 when Newfoundland Road and Houlton Street bore the brunt of the attack and St Clements church was destroyed.
When the war was over, everything looked pretty desolate with gaps everywhere. Many surviving properties were propped up on one side where a neighbouring building had collapsed. For years after the war, bits of houses that had been blasted away still retained parts of their upstairs rooms clinging on to houses still standing. It was sad to see fragments of floral wallpaper marking the spot which had once been someone's best bedroom.
The council's policy was to invest what funds they had available in building new estates in the suburbs and, as a consequence of this decision, much of the inner city was left to decay. An air of seediness began to pervade the place. This was not helped by the fact that many firms whose buildings had been damaged or obliterated, decided not to rebuild in town but to relocate elsewhere, in areas like Ashton or Brislington, where the trend for trading estates had begun.
The 1950s saw a sudden surge of construction activity and centuries-old buildings, which had survived the Blitz, now fell victim to the bulldozers. Quaint names from bygone days, such as Rosemary Street, Leek Lane, Milk Street and Blinkers Steps, disappeared from the sweet maps and a huge slice of Bristol's history vanished in a few short years. By this time, all the grand houses in City Road and its off-shoots had been divided up into flats and bed-sitters and it was
here that a high proportion of West Indian immigrants settled when they first arrived on these shores, as rents were comparitively cheap here.
They looked so exotic, the men in their curiously tailored Light-coloured suits and the women in their brightly patterned dresses, providing a stark contrast to the drabness of their suroundings.
Casualties and Survivors
The 1960s spelled the beginning of the end of the old communities of St Paul's and St Werburgh's. One by one, the little streets toppled like houses of cards. Everyone was off to new accommodation, centrally heated homes with indoor sanitation. For some, these advantages overcame the sadness of parting with friends and childhood homes but for others the sense of loss was greater.
Local schools were falling into disrepair and many were unable to cope with the influx of immigrant families that rapidly settled in the area. Asians were arriving, many of them unable to speak anything but the most basic English. Smaller classes were called for to enable the newcomers to be taught the language while, at the same time, ensuring the existing pupils were not held back in their studies.
The old schools, with their outside lavatories and dark rooms, were demolished and replaced by modern structures whilst all around flats and maisonettes mushroomed. It is fortunate that, bv the time the planners began work in this area, lessons had been learned from the debacle in Easton and Barton Hill. No high-rise flats sprang up here. Nevertheless, the whole aspect of the district changed irrevocably and many lovely old buildings were lost forever.
Name's 'slavery link offensive' News Story 2006
People in the St Pauls area of Bristol say they are offended by the choice of name for a revamped area of the city. The Bristol Alliance intends to rename Broadmead the Merchants' Quarter, but for many the name has connotations with the slave trade from the city's past.
St Paul's resident Maryanne Kempf said: "I think that name is culturally inappropriate and offensive to many citizens of Bristol."
Bristol Alliance has said it will make a statement on the row on Wednesday.
"There was no consultation about the name and if a name offends people then it should not be used and this offends a lot of people and those people matter," said Ms Kempf. "What I would like is for the name to remain Broadmead or for the name to be changed to something more culturally appropriate."
Bristol and the Aggi Crew
During the 1990s Bristol’s drug trade was predominantly ran by a local gang known as the Aggi Crew. Towards the end of the century Jamaican criminals had been moving in on Bristol, as well as many other British towns and cities. In 1998, six members of the Aggi Crew were imprisoned after being found in possession of over £1 million worth of crack-cocaine.
Following the Aggi Crew imprisonment so-called Yardie dealers began running the area using new methods of dealing to ensure they evaded the police. Drug dealing around St Pauls Grosvenor Road area and the Black and White Cafe became so open and regular that it rapidly reached epidemic proportions. Drug dealing and intimidation joined by addicts, muggers and prostitutes began to plague the St Pauls district.
When the Aggi Crew members were released from prison they were eager to take back their territory and made an offer to the Jamaicans. The Jamaicans were an alliance of several smaller gangs including the Hype Crew, Mountain View Posse, Back to Back Gang and the Gucci. The Aggi Crew suggested they could operate St Paul’s as long as they paid a tax. The Jamaicans refused and as a mark of disrespect the Aggi Crew stormed the Black and White Caf robbing everyone at gunpoint, it seemed the only way it would be resolved would be through violence.
The first incidence involved a Hype Crew member being shot followed by a shooting on an Aggi Crew member. A series of tit-for-tat shootings and violent incidences took place. Armed police were drawn in to mount patrols around the St Pauls district following the release of the Aggi Crew amid fears of the growing gang violence. The patrols began in January 2003.
The patrols were in response to fears of a turf war between the gangs of drug dealers known to be armed and willing to use violence against each other. However, the threat of violence lessened and patrols were withdrawn in February 2003. In September 2003, Stephen Henry, a drugs dealer's 'protector' was shot dead by a rival gang during a Bristol turf war. He was shot three times as he got into his car after leaving the Level Nightclub in the city centre and was a heavy, debt enforcer and security man for dealer Arif Dad.
In recent years Bristol has not hit the headlines with tales of gang warfare. One of the more recent incidences was when two innocent victims were shot in October 2004 in what was a gangland hit.
