Council House, Bristol
Encyclopedia
The Council House has been the seat of local government in Bristol
, England
since 1956. It is situated on College Green
, opposite the Cathedral
and at the foot of Park Street
in Bristol city centre
. Throughout its history it has been home to Bristol city council
.
It was designed in the 1930s but built after World War II
. The architect was Vincent Harris
.
frame is clad with very wide, thin bricks, with Portland stone
dressings and a leaded hipped roof in a Neo-Georgian
style. The steep and high roof with gilded unicorn
s to the corners of the end blocks.
The foundation stone for The Council House was laid in 1938 and the building was opened by the Queen
in 1956. The ceremonial entrance overlooks the moat
and leads into the reception hall which is lined with local Doulting stone and paved with black and white Italian
marble
. It also features a blue and gold wall clock, encircled by the signs of the zodiac
and equipped with its own wind
indicator. The Conference Hall is the largest room in the building. The names of all Mayors and Lord Mayors of Bristol since 1216 are cut into the stone walls. The walls of the Lord Mayor’s Reception Room are panelled in English Walnut
and there is a colourful frieze displaying the heraldry
of the Bristol trade guilds, and, in gold leaf, the names of famous Bristolians.
(1902–1976) on the theme of molecular and atomic fusion.
.
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
since 1956. It is situated on College Green
College Green, Bristol
College Green is a public open space in Bristol, England. The Green takes the form of a segment of a circle with its apex pointing east, and covers...
, opposite the Cathedral
Bristol Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity is the Church of England cathedral in the city of Bristol, England, and is commonly known as Bristol Cathedral...
and at the foot of Park Street
Park Street, Bristol
Park Street is a main street in Bristol, England, linking the city centre to Clifton. It forms part of the A4018.The building of Park Street started in 1761 and it was Bristol's earliest example of uniformly stepped hillside terracing. The street runs from College Green up a steep incline...
in Bristol city centre
Bristol city centre
Bristol city centre is the commercial, cultural and business centre of Bristol, England. It is the area south of the central ring road and north of the Floating Harbour, bounded north by St Pauls and Easton, east by Temple Meads and Redcliffe, and west by Clifton and Canon's Marsh...
. Throughout its history it has been home to Bristol city council
Politics of Bristol
The city of Bristol, England, is a unitary authority, represented by four MPs representing seats wholly within the city boundaries. As well as these, Filton and Bradley Stoke covers the northern urban fringe in South Gloucestershire and the north eastern urban fringe is in the Kingswood constituency...
.
It was designed in the 1930s but built after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The architect was Vincent Harris
Vincent Harris
Emanuel Vincent Harris OBE, RA was an English architect who designed several important public buildings.He was born in Devonport, Devon and educated at Kingsbridge Grammar School. He was articled to the Plymouth architect James Harvey in 1893; in 1897 he moved to London where he assisted E. Keynes...
.
Building
It is a grade II* listed building. The concreteConcrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
frame is clad with very wide, thin bricks, with Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
dressings and a leaded hipped roof in a Neo-Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
style. The steep and high roof with gilded unicorn
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...
s to the corners of the end blocks.
The foundation stone for The Council House was laid in 1938 and the building was opened by the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
in 1956. The ceremonial entrance overlooks the moat
Moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that surrounds a castle, other building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices...
and leads into the reception hall which is lined with local Doulting stone and paved with black and white Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. It also features a blue and gold wall clock, encircled by the signs of the zodiac
Zodiac
In astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve 30° divisions of celestial longitude which are centred upon the ecliptic: the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year...
and equipped with its own wind
Wind
Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet's atmosphere into space...
indicator. The Conference Hall is the largest room in the building. The names of all Mayors and Lord Mayors of Bristol since 1216 are cut into the stone walls. The walls of the Lord Mayor’s Reception Room are panelled in English Walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
and there is a colourful frieze displaying the heraldry
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
of the Bristol trade guilds, and, in gold leaf, the names of famous Bristolians.
Ceilings
The ceiling of the council chamber was designed by John Armstrong (1893–1973) and depicts buildings in Bristol at the edge and the centre details sailing ships from different periods of Bristol History. The four corners show the allegorical figures of Enterprise, Wisdom, Industry and Navigation. The ceiling in the Conference Room is by Sir Walter Thomas MonningtonWalter Thomas Monnington
Sir Walter Thomas Monnington was an English painter. From 1918 to 1923, he studied at the Slade School of Fine Art and then became the Royal Academy's Rome Scholar for the next three years...
(1902–1976) on the theme of molecular and atomic fusion.
Environmental aspects
Refurbishment of the electrical and heating systems have incorporated the use of rainwater recycling for flushing toilets and an air-conditioning system that will discharge excess heat into the surrounding water filled moat rather than expelling it into the atmosphere. There are now plans to double-glaze the entire building some time in 2008.Popular culture
One of the building's gilded unicorns appears in the opening credits of the first series of popular television show, SkinsSkins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
.