Broadmead is a street in Bristol city centre in England, which has given its name to the principal shopping district of the city. It is part of Bristol Shopping Quarter.

History

The name of the street was first recorded in 1383 as ''Brodemede''. The name either means "broad meadow" or refers to ''brodemedes'', a type of woollen cloth woven only in Bristol. The area lay just to the north of the town walls of the historic Bristol. In about 1227 Blackfriars was founded as a Dominican priory in the area. After the dissolution of the monasteries the site had various secular uses, and in 1749 became the location of a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

meeting house, now known as Quakers Friars. In 1671 local dissenters opened the Broadmead Baptist Chapel near the junction of Broadmead and Union Street. In 1739

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

built his

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

chapel, known as the New Room, in the street. Shops were also built in the area. In 1825 a covered arcade was built between Horsefair and Broadmead, which still survives and is the second oldest building in Broadmead. Originally accompanied by another section, the Upper Arcade, but that was destroyed by 1940 bombing. St James' Priory, founded 1129, is northwest of Broadmead and Castle Park, the site of the Norman

Bristol Castle Bristol Castle was a Norman castle established in the late 11th century on the north bank of the River Avon in Bristol. Remains can be seen today in Castle Park near the Broadmead Shopping Centre, including the sally port. Built during the ...

, is to the south. When the old shopping district of Castle Street and Wine Street was heavily damaged in the

Bristol Blitz The Bristol Blitz was the heavy bombing of Bristol, England by the Nazi German ''Luftwaffe'' during the Second World War. Due to the presence of Bristol Harbour and the Bristol Aeroplane Company, the city was a target for bombing and was ea ...

, it was decided to redevelop the Broadmead area as the main shopping district of the city. Rebuilding began in 1950. The existing street, which ran between Union Street and Merchant Street, was extended north to include the former Rosemary Street.Reece Winstone (1967) ''Bristol Today'' photos 101ff Like most 1950s buildings in Britain, affordable and architecturally uninteresting

utilitarian In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for the affected individuals. In other words, utilitarian ideas encourage actions that lead to the ...

buildings form the bulk of the Broadmead area. In the 1980s some of these were removed to make way for the Galleries shopping centre, which is a three level covered street. Broadmead and several of the surrounding streets were pedestrianised.

Broadmead today

A regeneration project for Broadmead finished about 2010. The shopping area has been extended over the central ring road to produce a new shopping centre, Cabot Circus, which opened in September 2008. This area had been named Merchants Quarter but in April 2006 the name was abandoned after a campaign claiming the name was offensive because it was the Bristol

Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which went on to fund the 15th-century voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a mono ...

who dealt in the trade of African slaves. In 1987, the shopping centre was the scene of an abduction that received national attention. On 8 October 1987, 29-year-old newly-wed Shirley Banks was abducted by serial killer

John Cannan John David Guise Cannan (20 February 1954 – 6 November 2024) was a British murderer, serial rapist, serial abductor, and suspected serial killer. He was convicted in July 1988 and given three life sentences for the murder of Shirley Banks in ...

as she walked back to her car. Her body was found on Easter Day 1988. Cannan was convicted of her abduction and murder. A

business improvement district A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within whichever businesses elect to pay an additional fee (or assessment) in order to fund projects within the district's boundaries. A BID is not a tax, as taxes fund the government. BID f ...

(BID) was established for Broadmead in 2005, with a current plan that extends to 2028. In 2021, flagship shop

Debenhams Debenhams plc was a British department store chain that operated in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, as well as franchised locations across Europe and the Asia Pacific. The company was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and gr ...

closed following the chain's bankruptcy, and the closure of the

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

branch was announced for January 2022.

Public Transport

Broadmead is served by various bus services and is immediately south of

Bristol bus station Bristol Bus and Coach Station serves the city of Bristol in the west of England. It is situated on Marlborough Street, near the Broadmead shopping area. The original bus station and onsite depot were opened in 1958 by the Bristol Omnibus Comp ...

. Bristol Temple Meads station is about half a mile south east.

References

External links

Broadmead BID websiteBristol Shopping Quarter website
{{coord, 51.457, -2.588, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Areas of Bristol Streets in Bristol Shopping streets in Bristol