Bristol's Queen Square
If You were asked to name the most elegant and desirable address outside of London you would probably think of somewhere like Bath's Royal Crescent. But, until recently, I bet you wouldn't have thought to mention Bristol's own Queen Square, arguably the finest and most gracious of the lot.
With its imposing proportions and William and Mary architecture, this 300-year-old space was the first landscaped residential square to be completed outside of the capital. The idea for its spacious lawns and pathways was borrowed straight from the parks of Paris and in its heyday it represented the height of regional style. Now, thanks to Lottery funding, this once overlooked masterpiece of urban planning has rightly taken its place as one of the jewels in the city's crown. While fashionable bars and arts and media centres have rejuvenated the Harbourside - it's the square and its unique history which sets Bristol's regeneration story apart.
The largest square of its kind in Europe, it derives its name from Queen Anne, whom the city fathers invited to visit the city and attend a dinner. At that time, Bristol was a growing import-export powerhouse and the square, with its tall rows of merchants' houses, reflected the wealth derived from such commodities as sugar, tobacco, wine, and, less palatably, slaves. These houses looked out over wide, gravelled paths shaded by triple rows of elm trees, and in the centre stood a fine statue of William III - King Billy - by Rysbrack, the leading sculptor of the day.
Although the very rich decided to make the move up to the healthy airs of Clifton, the square flourished - until one weekend in October 1831 when the infamous Bristol Riots broke out. Troops were called in, but by the time they arrived, a drunken mob had wrenched out the iron railings off the mayor's Mansion House and were using them to demolish the ground floor. The troops then backed off. After the riot had spread to other parts of the city, the mob returned to the square and again attacked the Mansion House. After breaking into its cellars and sampling the fine wines and sherries they found there, the mob began a systematic plunder of the square before torching the houses.
By the time it was all over, and peace restored, the place was a smouldering shambles Financial wrangles delayed rebuilding and by then the place had then lost any most-desirable tag it may have still had. But the square's travails were far from over, with the final blow coming a century later. It was, ironically, delivered by the city corporation itself, which, in 1936, sanctioned the construction of a dual carriageway diagonally across the square, demolishing the buildings at its north west and south west corners. That might have been the end for the square. Then, in 1999, the dual carriageway was removed and work started to restore the layout as near as practicably possible to its original form.
The Rysbrack statue was also restored and replaced in its original position. Car parking has been restricted and the wide gravel paths reinstated. Unsightly tarmac has been removed from the perimeter roads to reveal a surface re-laid with the original sets. The stone pavements and roped walkways have also been reinstated. Now city workers seek out the square's shady benches to eat a quiet lunch or play boules on the gravel paths, while on summer nights it hosts events such as live bands and the Stella Artois Screen on Location. Certainly its magnificent regeneration has recovered for Bristol, and the nation, one of the largest, grandest and most beautiful squares in the country.
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