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Bristol: West End Loop / Brandon Hill

Difficulty Easy

Walking time 51 minutes

Length 2.8km / 1.7mi

Route developer: John Beales

Route checker: Sarah Gettings

Start location Bristol College Green
Route Summary A walk through part of Bristol's Civil War History of 1643 and the city's capture by Royalist forces.
*move mouse over graph to see points on route
Getting there

There are numerous bus services which pass College Green. The main route numbers are 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 16, 19, 40 and 41.

Nearby are car parks and on-street meter parking.

College Green is very close to The Centre and probably every bus route in Bristol.

 
































































































































































































































































Description
This walk will pass through the Brandon Hill site of the Water Fort and over the hill to the breach site at the top of Park Street. From there it will go along the old road into Bristol, down Christmas steps to the site of Frome Gate.
 
[1] From a start-point on College Green walk along Deanery Road passing Bristol Cathedral on your left.
[2] Past St George's Road, turn right into York Place and forward onto Brandon Hill. 
[3] Bear left past the site of the Water Fort then climb up the Hill towards Cabot Tower passing the rebuilt fort wall and the toilets on your right [4].
[6] Take the downhill path, bearing right and then continuing on the path descending to B erkeley Square where you leave the path on the left. As you reach the corner of Berkeley Square, take the left-hand side of the square and continue straight ahead until you join the main road which is Queens Road. 
[8] Cross the road here, turn right and go downhill past Bristol City Museum and Will's Tower crossing back over Park Row at the top of Park Street. Continue along Park Row and just past the Red Lodge on your right, start to descent down Lower Park Row [9].
[10] At the bottom of Lower Park Row, cross the road and continue down the Christmas Steps directly opposite.
[11] Turn left at the bottom to Lewin's Mead and then cross the road to the second part of Christmas Street to the city gate.
[12] Turn right at the city gate to take the road back through the Centre, crossing at the fountains to return back to College Green.




 
























POI information

(A) Site of the Water Fort 1643-5

(B) Civil War defensive ditches

(C) Brandon Hill defences

In 1643 Royalist forces probing the Parliamentary defences of Bristol found a weak spot at the top end of what is now Park Row and stormed the city. This weakness lay between the strong-points of Brandon and Windmill Hills with attacking troops shielded by an old stone barn.

After breaching the outer defences, the Royalist forces charged the Essex Battery (near the junction of Park Row and Woodland Road) then sped down what became Christmas Steps. Briefly checked at Frome Gate at the bottom of Christmas Street by a group of Bristol women led by Dorothy Hazard and Joan Batten and others who stopped up the Frome Gate with woolsacks and earth and unsuccessfully attempted to rally the defenders

Brandon Hill has considerable historical significance of its own. In 1174 the summit of Brandon Hill was given to St James' Priory. As a result, a chapel dedicated to St Brendan the navigator, the patron saint of seafarers and mariners, was established. William Worcestre It appears therefore that today's more commonly known name of Brandon Hill may be derived from the establishment of the 12th century dates the chapel's construction: this name is Mutton Tump. The usual explanation for the name of Mutton Tump is that it simply refers to the fact that sheep used to graze on the hill. An alternative for the source of the name 'Brandon Hill' is that it is a conjunction of three old languages: Brn from the Welsh, Dun from old English and of course Hill...

(D) Old YHA Building blitz victim

(E) Plaque commemorating Washington's Breach

(F) Site of Breach

(G) HMV Nipper Statue

(H) Site of Essex battery

(I) Christmas Steps

Originally named Queene Street by Civil War times known as Knyfesmyth Street after the tradesmen working there. In Middle English the K in Knyfesnyth was sounded; thus is may have become corrupted to Christmas.

(J) Frome Gate

 

 

 
























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