News / Historic England
Campaigners call for help to save Bristol’s Grosvenor Hotel
Campaigners have issued a rallying cry, urging Bristol City Council to protect the former Grosvenor Hotel from demolition.
The now-dilapidated building, built in 1875 near Temple Meads, has been put forward to Historic England for consideration for Listed Building status.
Last year, a planning application was lodged for a new nine-storey mixed-use development on the site. In the plans, the Grosvenor would be demolished, while the frontage of the adjacent George and Railway Hotel would be incorporated into the plans.
is needed now More than ever
An artist’s impression of the planned development
In November 2017 the council’s planning committee granted consent for the development to go ahead, in the face of major objections from Historic England, the Victorian Society, and dozens of concerned citizens.
One campaigner who expresses her desire for Bristol City Council to keep this historic landmark is Redcliffe resident and campaigner Allison Cartwright. “This is the last chance for this historic building – if restored it would look stunning next to Temple Meads. We don’t want to stand in the way of developing this site, but there are other options than bulldozing the whole lot.
“So much of Victoria Street and Redcliffe was destroyed in the Blitz, and afterwards by over-zealous town planners. These are precious fragments of our city that escaped destruction and deserve to be respected.
“If getting the Grosvenor listed is the only way to get developers to take the city’s heritage seriously then we have to try it.”
The Grosvenor Hotel. Photo from Allie Cartwright
The hotel was designed by S C Fripp, the same architect who designed the chapel of the old BRI building that was awarded Grade II listed status just eight weeks before it was due to be demolished last year. Fripp was also known for working alongside Brunel in the design of Temple Meads station.
Campaigners claim that, as a former railway hotel, the Grosvenor is integral to the historic setting of Brunel’s Grade I listed station complex. The ornate façade, which includes ornamental gargoyles and a huge carved head of the Roman god Bacchus, can still be glimpsed through scaffolding that has been in place since 2013.
The Grosvenor Hotel from the air. Photo from Allie Cartwright
Bristol City Council, which owns the adjacent sites, are due to lodge a compulsory purchase order so they can begin demolition of the Grosvenor. The whole site is then due to be handed over to London-based developers Skanska.
Campaigners are urging the public to write to Historic England at their offices at 29 Queen Square, to call for the council to act in the best interests of the city’s historic buildings. A spokesperson for the campaign said: “This is it. It’s the last chance. If we lose the Grosvenor now, we’ll lose another bit of what makes our city unique”.
To find out more about the campaign to save the hotel, visit www.facebook.com/savethebristol.grosvenorhotel.1
Historic England https://www.historicengland.org.uk/
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