News / Castle Park
Replica of Bristol Castle to be centrepiece of new high-rise ‘Castle Quarter’
An ambitious plan to rebuild what was once one of England’s largest castles is set to be unveiled later today.
A full-sized replica of the keep of Bristol Castle will be built where it used to stand in what is now Castle Park.
The castle will be at the heart of a new high-rise development called Castle Quarter, where around half a dozen new mixed-use towers up to 30 storeys high are likely to be built taking inspiration from Castle Park View.
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“Bristol Castle was the original high-rise so there is no better building to form the centrepiece of Castle Quarter,” a planning document seen by Bristol24/7 says.
The ambitious plans also include an underground station within what is now the Vaulted Chambers Cafe as part of Bristol’s proposed multi-billion pound mass transit system.
Trains will run along what was originally the castle’s moat, with electric canoes soon available to hire via an app called Canoi that will use the new tunnels during their test phase.
The replica of the keep with authentic 25ft-thick walls will be luxury student accommodation inspired by what has been created within the former Catholic cathedral in Clifton.
A gym, games room and boutique cinema will be located within the castle’s former dungeon, while the battlements will become a rooftop bar.
A fully functioning drawbridge will be raised and lowered via voice recognition, with another entrance to the keep from the sally port where defenders were once able to spring surprise attacks.
Students are currently being recruited to be ambassadors for Castle Quarter and for the new Canoi hire scheme.
Work has already started to create a canoe storage area behind the Vaulted Chambers – photo: Martin Booth
Bristol Castle was built by the Normans in the 11th century and demolished in 1650 on the orders of Oliver Cromwell.
Only a few fragments of the once grand fortress remain, with the area now covered by Castle Park becoming one of Bristol’s main commercial areas before much of it was destroyed in the Blitz.
The Vaulted Chambers Cafe was originally the entrance to the castle’s great hall and before the Second World War was a Boots.
Bristol24/7 understands that the underground line using part of the castle’s former moat will be called the Cromwell Line.
After the Vaulted Chambers, the next stop will be in Quakers Friars followed by the Bearpit, Cheltenham Road (with a station in the former toilet next to the arches) and Gloucester Road on the site of what is now a hand car wash next to the Anchor pub.
The ruins of the castle keep can still be found in Castle Park – photo: Martin Booth
Main photo: Martin Booth
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