The few remains of Bristol Castle still within Castle Park

Once the beating heart of Bristol with bustling shopping streets, homes, schools and theatres, the area that we now know as Castle Park was almost completely destroyed by the Luftwaffe during the Bristol Blitz between 1940 and 1941.

Further back in time – as its name suggests – it was the site of Bristol Castle, built in the 11th century and once the largest Norman castle in England.

Now, only a few crumbling walls and underground chambers remain following the castle’s demolition in the mid 17th century.

The first mention of a castle in Bristol is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 1088. The original structure was most likely of motte and bailey design, with a timber tower built on a raised mound (the motte) enclosed by a courtyard (the bailey), in turn surrounded by a protective ditch and high timber fence.

In the early 1100s, Robert, First Earl of Gloucester (the illegitimate son of Henry l) levelled the motte and had the keep rebuilt in stone.

The remains of this can still be seen today, with the castle ruins merging with the remains of Victorian brickwork from the Llewellins & James brass foundry that occupied the site until the Second World War bombing.

The Vaulted Chambers are the only intact part of Bristol Castle that survives above ground – photo: Barbara Evripidou

The best preserved parts of Bristol Castle that survives above ground are the vaulted chambers, the ceilings of which are formed by a series of interconnecting carved stone arches over two rooms.

The Scheduled Ancient Monument, probably once the entrance to the castle’s great hall and a Boots before the war, has since 2021 been the Vaulted Chambers Cafe with any profits used to help fund the cost of maintaining Bristol’s parks and green spaces.

A sally port, once a hidden entrance to Bristol Castle, can usually be accessed once a year on Bristol Open Doors weekend in September.

Walk down a dozen or so steps that were only rediscovered during archaeological excavations in the early 1970s, which also unearthed a skeleton of a monkey. The sally port was originally accessed via an underground tunnel, allowing the castle’s defenders to leave the castle and attack besiegers.

The only other remnant of Bristol Castle is a portion of the 12th century south curtain wall containing a slit window which would have given an archer a good view over the River Avon if any attackers were heading from that direction.

Accessed via a lower path than the main thoroughfare through Castle Park, one of the oldest surviving pieces of Bristol history is now all too often blighted by graffiti, with a polite note attempting to dissuade any taggers from leaving their mark.

This is an extract from 111 Places in Bristol That You Shouldn’t Miss by Martin Booth. Join Martin on a walking tour of the Old City and Castle Park, and receive a signed copy of the bestselling guidebook.

Arrow slits can still be seen on the remains of this section of the castle’s former wall – photo: Barbara Evripidou

Main photo: Barbara Evripidou

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• Inside the hidden church in the city centre

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