Transcript Bristol - Elac Education

Walking Tour of Bristol
1.’ Banksy’s ‘Well Hung Man’
• You will see Banksy’s ‘Well Hung Man’ from Park Street immediately
as you get off the bus.
• It shows a man and a woman looking out of a bedroom window, and
a naked man hanging precariously from the window sill. The man is
possibly the woman’s lover who is escaping her suspicious husband.
• This is one of the most famous pieces of street art in Bristol; Banksy
created it in 2006 when the building was a sexual health clinic.
1.’ Banksy’s ‘Well Hung Man’
(Cross over the road to College Green. If students have packed lunches,
they can sit on the benches, or walls around the green, to eat them.)
2. Clare Street
(Walk to the left-hand-side of the green, and follow College Green Road
down to Anchor Road. Cross Anchor Road, so that you are at Centre
Promenade, a pedestrianised area between two roads: Anchor Road/St
Augustine’s Parade and Broad Quay.
Walk down Centre Promenade. At the mid-way point, where the bus
stops are on the right-hand side, cross Broad Quay Street at the
pedestrian crossing, cross Baldwin Street, and then turn right into Clare
Street. Stop at the beginning of the pedestrianised street.)
2. Clare Street
• At the beginning of Clare Street is a building which was a bank in the 19th
Century, and further along the street is the NatWest Bank which was built
in 1852 as Stuckey’s Bank.
• Many banks were built in Bristol at this time, as it was a wealthy city. It
was one of the most important ports in Britain in the 18th Century, trading
with the American colonies and the West Indies.
• There was a triangle of trade: Goods from Britain were shipped to Africa,
slaves were then shipped to the West Indies and America to work on the
plantations, and then the ships returned to Bristol full of sugar, tobacco,
rum, and cocoa from the plantations.
• As a result, Bristol developed industries based on the products from the
plantations: sugar refining, chocolate making and cigarette making.
3. The Corn Exchange
(Walk along Corn Street until you are standing in front of the Corn
Exchange. Stop here to speak to the students)
• This is a Grade I listed building which is home to St Nicholas Market
with lots of individual stalls and great places to eat ethnic food.
• Despite its name, The Corn Exchange was not only used to buy and
sell corn, but also other products, particularly those from the
American and West Indian plantations.
• The carvings on the front of the building are African, American, Asian,
and European figures and animals which were symbols of Bristol’s
foreign trade.
• In the 1960s, the Corn Exchange was a popular music venue, and
artists including The Rolling Stones and Spencer Davies performed
here.
3. The Corn Exchange
• The clock on the front of the building is from 1822, when Bristol
had its own local time!
• Later, a second minute hand (the red hand) was added to show
the time in London (Greenwich Mean Time).
• This was necessary when the railway line arrived, and Bristol
adopted the official railway (GMT) time on 14th September
1852.
• The city is 2° 35’ degrees west of Greenwich, so when it is
midday in Bristol local time, it is just after 12.10 in London!
4. Welsh Back
(Take the lane on the left-hand-side of the Corn Exchange (All Saints
Lane) which takes you down the left-hand-side of the building and past
St Nicholas Market. Follow it until you arrive at Baldwin Street.
Cross the two roads at the pedestrian crossing until you are on the street
called ‘Welsh Back’ which runs along the river (river on the left hand
side). Stop at the start of ‘Welsh Back’.)
4. Welsh Back
• This area got its name from the coastal trade between Bristol and
Wales; stone, timber and coal arrived in Bristol from across the
Severn estuary in Wales.
• There are examples of Bristol Byzantine style on Welsh Back. Both
Robinson’s Warehouse (photo above) and The Granary are built in
this style, with coloured brick and Moorish arches.
5. The Llandoger Trow
(Turn right onto King Street and stop outside The Llandoger Trow pub.)
• The pub was built in 1664 and got its name from a Welsh boat. A Trow
was a flat-bottomed boat, and Llandogo is a Welsh village 32 km from
Bristol across the Severn estuary.
• This is where Daniel Defoe had the idea for Robinson Crusoe! Daniel
Defoe met Alexander Selkirk at the Llandoger Trow. Selkirk was a
Scottish sailor, who spent more than four years as a castaway on an
uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean.
5. The Llandoger Trow
• In September 1704, Selkirk argued with the Captain of his ship,
because he thought the ship (Cinque Ports) needed repairs and it was
not safe for travel (the wood was being eaten by worms). He said that
he would rather be left on the island that they were on (Mas a
Tierrato) than travel on the ship. The Captain left him there and the
ship and its crew left.
• Selkirk was right to stay on the island because the ship sank and lots
of the sailors died. The ones who survived were taken to a horrible
prison in Lima, Peru by Spanish sailors.
6. The Old Vic Theatre
• From outside the Llandoger Trow pub, point up the street towards
‘The Old Vic’ Theatre which is on the right hand side of King Street.
• It was built between 1764 and 1766, at a time when theatres needed
permission from the Monarch to open. It was therefore a risk, and the
theatre didn’t get this permission until 1778.
• £19 million was spent on the theatre in 2012, and it is one of the best
theatres in the country.
• The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company which was opened by
Laurence Olivier in 1946, and many successful actors have learnt to act
here, including Daniel Day Lewis, Olivia Coleman, Pete Postlethwaite,
and Naomie Harries.
6. The Old Vic Theatre
(Turn left onto Queen
Street, the street which
runs down the side of
The Llandoger Trow,
and you will pass The
Granary Building on
your left.)
• The Granary is another great example of the Bristol Byzantine
style.
• The building shows the Victorian fashion of using Venetian
Moorish and Byzantine features, and it looks very similar to many
buildings in Venice.
• Unfortunately, the building was not used for very long, as
warehouses closer to the water became more popular.
7. Queen Square
(Turn left onto Charlotte Street and you will then find yourself in
Queen Square. Walk to the monument in the centre of the square,
and stop to speak to the students.)
• Building of the square finished in 1727, and was named in after
Queen Anne. The monument in the centre is of William 3rd (who
was King before Queen Anne).
• In the 18th Century, the square was the most fashionable place to
live in Bristol, with very expensive houses overlooking the square.
Today, it is mostly offices.
• People say it is one of the ‘squarest’ squares in Europe!
7. Queen Square
8. ‘The Hole in the Wall’ pub
(Leave Queen square on the right hand corner, opposite to where you
arrived; The Hole in the Wall pub will be on the left hand corner.)
• In one corner of Queen
Square, is ‘The Hole in the
Wall’ pub, which was called
‘The Coach and Horses’ in
the 18th Century.
• The pub’s modern name is
after a spy hole which was
in the wall of the pub, and
which let 18th Century
sailors and smugglers who
were inside the pub to see
if customs men and press
gangs were coming.
• Press gangs were people
who recruited sailors for
the Navy, but they used to
push or ‘press’ people to
join the navy, particularly
when they were drunk and
couldn’t argue. If a
member of the gang
pressed a shilling coin into
a man’s hand, that man
had then accepted a job in
the navy!
8. ‘The Hole in the Wall’ pub
• Drunk men would wake up after a night in the pub, and find
themselves on navy boats out at sea where working and living
conditions were really bad! They could not leave or they would be
hanged!
• Many people also believe that Long
John Silver, the character from
Treasure Island written by Robert
Louis Stevenson, was based on a
real person who ran this pub.
• This means that key characters
from ‘Treasure Island’ and
‘Robinson Crusoe’ were based on
people two streets apart in Bristol!
9. Pero’s Bridge
(Once you have left Queen Square, cross over Prince Street until you get
to the river side; Pero’s Bridge will be in front of you. Stand to the right of
the bridge.)
9. Pero’s Bridge
• Pero Bridge is a pedestrian footbridge. It was designed by Irish artist
Eilis O’Connell and opened in 1999. The centre of the bridge can be
raised to allow talk boats to pass, and the horn shaped sculptures are
counterweights for the lifting section.
• Pero Jones was an African slave who lived in Bristol. In 1765, at the age
of 12, Pero Jones and his two sisters were bought by a rich slave
plantation owner and sugar merchant John Pinney to work on his
plantation. In 1784, he moved with the Pinney family to Bristol, and
became a personal servant to John Pinney. He died at the age of 45,
and was a slave for about 32 years. He was never given his freedom.
• The bridge was named to remember Pero, a slave who lived and died
in the city.
10. The Matthew
(Ask the group to look to the left down the harbour, where they should see
a wooden sail boat.)
• This is The Matthew, a replica of the boat sailed by John Cabot from
Bristol to Newfoundland in North America in 1497.
• This boat was built to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Cabot’s voyage.
• In 1997 she made the same journey as the original Matthew, and sailed
from Bristol to Newfoundland where she was welcomed by Queen
Elizabeth 2nd.
10. The Matthew
• In 1497, John Cabot left Bristol with 18 crew members, sailed to Ireland,
and then sailed West expecting to arrive in Asia. However, he arrived in
North America and was probably the first person to discover
Newfoundland.
• John Cabot was an Italian man from Venice and his real name was
Giovanni Caboto, but he was paid by Henry 7th to explore the seas and to
find new lands.
• Some people say that the name of his boat wasn’t Matthew, but it was
Mattea; the name of his Venetian wife.
11. The Harbourside
(Walk along Narrow Quay, towards the Centre Promenade.)
• This area is very popular with visitors as this is where you can visit
many popular attractions:
The ‘Arnolfini Arts centre and Gallery’; one of Europe’s best centres
for contemporary arts (to the left from where you were standing at
Pero’s Bridge)
‘@Bristol Science centre’ (directly across Pero’s Bridge)
‘Bristol Aquarium’ (across Pero’s Bridge and to the right)
‘The Watershed’; a multi-arts centre, and art house cinemas, which
has held many different film festivals (to the right of Bristol
Aquarium). The building used to be warehouses.
11. The Harbourside
(Pass the Watershed, which is on the other side of the harbour on your left,
until you arrive back at the Centre Promenade.
Retrace your earlier steps so that you once again walk down Clare Street
which becomes Corn Street.)
12. Leonard Lane
(Before you get to the Corn Exchange, turn down an alley way on your left
called Leonard Lane.
Look out for the Orangutan painted at the entrance to the lane, and walk
slowly down the lane so that students have plenty of time to take photos.)
12. Leonard Lane
• Some of the UK’s best environmental street artists came here in 2015 to
transform this lane to create Europe’s biggest environmental art street,
and to increase awareness of environmental issues.
• Don’t miss the Charles Darwin painting on the right at the start of the
alley, and the chewing gum art on the floor when the lane widens out a
little. Street art on chewing gum is also not illegal, as it is on rubbish and
not on walls of buildings.
13. ‘See no Evil’ Street Art
(Turn left once you exit Leonard Lane, and then turn right onto Quay Street.
There are huge street art murals on the buildings above you on your right.
The best place to see these is the other side of the road, so cross over just
after the junction on the left with Christmas Street. The group can then
stand together at the junction where there is more space, and look across
the road at the murals while you talk to them about the pieces.)
13. ‘See no Evil’ Street Art
• The three pieces were created by some of the world’s best street artists
during the Bristol festival of street art ‘See no Evil’ in 2011.
• The mural of a mother and child was painted by El Mac, an artist from Los
Angeles. It is a portrait of his wife and child in his photo realistic style. It
also mirrors many religious paintings of Mary and child.
• El Mac usually paints in deprived and impoverished areas such as the slums
of South America and India, therefore it is very unusual to see his work in
Europe. It took 3 days to complete this piece, but he probably had some
help!
14. St John the Baptist’s Church
(Look directly across the road, back to where you came from, and ask
students to look at the church.)
• This is St John the Baptist’s Church with its elegant spire and its
Gothic city gate.
• In the 12th Century, five churches were built into Bristol’s city walls
and this is the only church that remains. This version of the church is
from the 14th century.
14. St John the Baptist’s Church
(Cross back over the road, and go through the Church gateways.
Each archway is full of street art so try to take the students through
one, and remember to take them back through a different one after
Point 15.)
15. ‘The Duel of Bristol’
(Once you are through the Church gateways, you will see a large mural in
front of you, so gather your students on the pavement in front of it.)
• This mural is by the Irish artist Conor Harrington, and it was also
created during the ‘See No Evil’ festival.
• It’s called ‘The Duel of Bristol’ and shows the battle between Ireland
(the Irish flag colours are seen under the man’s legs with his back to us,
and Britain (the British flag colours are seen under the man’s legs facing
us).
• Harrington’s work mirrors the ‘Chiaroscuro’ effect used in art to show
the contrast between light and dark, and which was popular with
painters such as Caravaggio.
16. Quay Street/Nelson Street
(Walk back through the Church gateways (remember to choose a different
archway so that students see some different street art). Turn right and
carry walking along Quay Street.
Quay Street then becomes Nelson Street, and you will pass other examples
of street art.
Encourage students to keep looking up so that they don’t miss them, but
make sure they also think of road safety as there can be a lot of traffic on
this street.)
17. Pixelpancho
(At a certain point on Nelson Street, there will be a red brick building on
your right, and a small road to cross over.
At this point, walk a little towards the right, towards the NCP car park and
you will see another example of street art.
Gather your group on the pavement opposite the mural.)
17. Pixelpancho
• This mural is by the Italian street artist Pixelpancho who is from Turin.
He learnt to paint with his grandfather who enjoyed painting as a
hobby.
• Pixelpancho then went to study Art in Valencia, Spain, and this is
where he become interested in street art.
• He likes robots and machine-like creatures which you can see clearly in
this piece.
• His influences include Salvador Dali, and you can see an example of
this influence with the animal skull under the robotic bird’s claw.
• Pixelpancho’s work is in many European cities, and since 2015 also in
the USA e.g., Brooklyn, New York.
18. Meeting point
Continue along Nelson Street, until you arrive at the cross roads with the
pedestrianised shopping area in front of you. Cross the road, and then
establish a meeting point if students have free time.
If you meet the bus on Bond Street (opposite Holiday Inn) at the end of the
day, and the group isn’t too big, a good place to meet can be near Primark.
To show students where this is, turn left and walk down Union Street. At
the end, there will be a road to cross; Primark is on the right, and there is a
pedestrianised area with an outdoor coffee shop in front of you, which can
be the meeting point.
To meet the bus, you will need to walk around to the back of Primark and
follow the road around to the right. You will pass the subway and bus stops
as you walk around the corner. You will then see more laybys, and the
coach will be waiting for you here.