Highlights from Bristol Doors Open Days 2017

Bristol’s buildings flung open their doors for one special weekend in September, for Doors Open Days 2017. Buildings of all ages, types and uses, all across the city, were opened to the public, including churches, caves and cellars, recycling plants, medical facilities, cranes, roof terraces, police stations, observatories and swimming baths.

From little-known buildings that you’d walk past and never think twice about, to buildings you thought you knew that harbour fascinating secrets, three Bristol24/7 writers visited parts of buildings they had never been to before, documenting just some of the many highlights of the weekend.

Sammy Jones visited the home of One25, a charity that helps sex workers, in St Paul’s.

You could walk past the inconspicuous doorway of One25 hundreds of times and never know it was there – but for the 127 vulnerable Bristol sex workers that the charity helps each year, it’s impossible to miss. While the building is still noticeably a church, the atmosphere is far more homely than holy.

Sofas are lined with pillows and blankets, some of which were stitched by the women that find support here, and there’s something soothing on the television as we tour. As part of the drop-in service that operates here every weekday, women can use this area to decompress. There are lots more essential services available to them too: a small kitchen, a part-time GP surgery and toilets and shower rooms are also open. As well as meeting the women’s basic needs, there are a raft of activities available, from creative therapy, to gardening.

While this is a comprehensive space on its own, it isn’t complete without the team behind the services. There’s a full fleet of case workers on hand to help the women when they choose to, and there are over 120 volunteers on hand to keep the charity afloat. One25 is testament to the big heart of Bristol, and it’s a tangible feeling as you enter the building, and as you exit.

Jack Bray toured Colston Hall, going behind the scenes and exploring its hidden cellars.

Colston Hall is currently undergoing a significant transitional phase. After having opened as a concert hall 150 years ago, the venue is soon to face extensive renovation and a name change.

Bristol Doors Open Days provided visitors with an opportunity to say a sort of farewell to the building, and to explore some of the hidden secrets behind the age-old venue. It was a window onto how it has functioned from its inception in 1867, through two world wars and into the present day.

One of the most surprising things about the hall is the sheer variety of events that it has played host to. The sheer number of acts across 150 years is staggering. The main room has given audiences from across the city a venue to indulge in every type of music possible; top comedians from all eras have tread the boards, and even wrestling has been held in the space.

As the tour of the building continued, it was clear that the history of the hall is not limited to the performances inside. The original Colston Hall building is one of a very few surviving examples of the ‘Bristol Byzantine’ architectural style. Mixing Byzantine and Moorish architecture, the hall hints at the multicultural influences coming into Bristol at the time, spurred on by the transatlantic slave trade that the eponymous Colston generated his huge wealth from.

The tour also included a look at the extensive organ system at the back of the main hall, and a look into the newer Lantern venue and the hidden catacombs that lie beneath the building. It was a fascinating look behind the scenes of a building that so many in Bristol know so well.

Tour guides were to keen to stress that the building as we know it is due to close following summer 2018 but it will be reopening in 2020 following an extensive renovation project. It really felt that the time to see the building as it stands is now.

Though the Colston Hall is currently in the midst of image change, the building, its commitment to entertaining Bristol and its people and the importance it has to them is sure to last for many years to come.

Jess Connett visited Blaise Castle, an 18th century folly in the Blaise Castle Estate.

The folly is a building that captures hearts and minds. Winding up through the thick woods in the Blaise Castle Estate, leaves still thick and green on the trees, you emerge onto the top of a bluff. Views from Lover’s Leap stretch down through cliffs and woodland to ponds, with the far hills of Dundry on the horizon. But it’s the folly that really intrigues.

With the doors open, many took up the chance for a rare look inside. Passing through the doors, the inside is constructed in a bright sandy yellow stone, making the small space surprisingly light. One of the three round protrusions houses a spiral staircase, taking the brave up to the roof to take in the panoramic view. On a sunny afternoon, five counties were spectacularly visible, as well as both Severn bridges.

The folly was constructed by Blaise Estate’s wealthy landowner, Thomas Farr, in 1766, and inside the building, information boards tell its story. Fascinating photographs in age-mottled black-and-white show a sumptuous fantasy interior, all dark wood panelling and suits of armour. In one image, glamorous women with finger waves in sheath dresses and pearls perched on the rooftop battlements, drinks in hand.

The building was almost demolished following a devastating fire, but the outside has been restored to its former glory by volunteer group The Friends of Blaise Castle, who fundraise to keep the building safe, and were on-hand when the doors were open to offer their expertise. It was a fascinating look inside a building that is usually closed, and a connection to a past that feels so distant but sometimes comes close enough to touch.

Read more: Which of Bristol’s buildings would you demolish?