The Local List New edition sees 24 more
The new edition of the Local List, which highlights historic Bristol buildings which are not formally protected by law, but which everyone feels should be valued anyway, has just been published. Eugene Byrne takes a look at just a few of the new inclusions
LIGHTHOUSES at Avonmouth, a derelict chapel and a former jam factory are among the latest additions to Bristol’s “Local List” of historic structures which the public and an expert panel believe should be saved for the city.
The 2020 update of the Local List, delayed like so many other things by the Covid crisis, has 24 new additions, most of them connected to the city’s industrial and working past.
The List, first published by Bristol City Council in 2015, identifies buildings of architectural, historic, social, or archaeological value that are worth preserving because of their quality, style or historical importance.
The buildings and structures are nominated by members of the public, or identified as at risk, and their importance is assessed by an independent panel which includes historians, architects, archaeologists and council planning officers.
Local Listing provides a degree of protection under local planning policy for buildings that enhance the city’s social, cultural, and architectural heritage. It does not have the legal force of formal listing by Historic England (whereby a building cannot be demolished or altered without special permission), but it is hoped that inclusion on the Local List will give the owners a sense of pride and encourage them to respect the building or structure’s heritage and look after it accordingly.
The 2020 update includes parts of the Georgian gaslight works on Avon Street dating back to 1821; workers institute building Kingsland House, designed by the great Sir George Oatley; the remains of Easton Colliery, and the former Avondale Jam Factory in Hillfields with its distinctive red and yellow brick façade.
Bristol’s maritime history is represented with the inclusion of the Royal Edward Dock while the city’s transport industry is celebrated by including part of the Barton Hill engine sheds, and a pioneering steel-framed shed, built as Bristol’s Municipal Vehicle Garage just before the Second World War.
Councillor Nicola Beech, cabinet member for spatial planning and city design, said: “Industrial buildings are often overlooked as they don’t always fit people’s perceptions of beauty or culture as they are often built for very specific purposes and without elaborate architectural embellishments.
“Recognising the special nature of these places helps highlight their value as part of the history of Bristol, and makes sure they can be conserved and adapted appropriately for new uses.
“Reusing our historic buildings is the ultimate form of recycling.”
The oldest building added was a former Newcomen engine house in Brislington. Dating from the 1730s, and now a private house, it once housed an engine to pump water from local mines, and it’s thought to be the earliest surviving structure of its kind in the country. The most modern addition is a unique factory in Rose Green, designed in 1961 for a local box-making company. Now a go-karting track its distinctive arched shape remains startling and unusual even today.
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Thanks to Bristol City Council City Design Group for the photos.
To see the latest edition of the Local List in full, go to www.bristol. gov.uk and search for “Local List”. You can also see each structure on a map, and click on each for more information, on the Know Your Place Bristol website. Go to https://maps.bristol.gov.uk/kyp/ and click on the box next to ‘Local List’ under ‘Historic Environment Record’ on the menu to the right of your screen.
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Kingsland House, Kingsland Road, St Philips. Designed by Sir George Oatley and built shortly before the First World War as a club/leisure centre for the workers of the Lysaght steel & galvanising factory over the road. It had a library/ reading room as well as a bar and skittle alley.