GWS Media
Tel: 0117 9724835
Queen Charlotte Street
Queen Charlotte Street where GWS Media is based is mid-way between Welsh Back and the Floating Harbour, a central position immediately east of the Bristol Centre.
Nearby are fine Victorian warehouses overlooking the Harbour, many converted into apartments, and the famous Queen Square.
All around are attractive waterfront buildings and heritage from Bristol's maritime past.
The Granary
The Granary, built in 1869 as a grain store, has been described as one of the most admired buildings in Bristol. It is one of the best preserved example of the Bristol Byzantine style (named because of influences from the architecture of the East Mediterranean), a swirl of polychromatic brickwork combining red, black and white bricks.
In the 1850s Bristol developed a style of architecture mainly used in industrial buildings, warehouses and factories. It made use of materials with character and colour - mainly Pennant stone and brick, rock-faced stone, and upper floors unified through either horizontal or vertical grouping of window openings. Decorative details were influenced by Venetian and North Italian Gothic examples.
The hoist arrangements and ventilation are imaginatively integrated into the decorative scheme for the building. Its facades are full of interest, with every storey different.Grade II listed, it is now converted into apartments, with a restaurant at ground level.
Many buildings in the Bristol Byzantine style have been destroyed or demolished, but there are some other notable surviving examples. e.g. the Colston Hall, the Gloucester Road Carriage Works, and several buildings around Victoria Street where GWS Media used to be based. Some of the warehouses around the harbour have also survived including the Arnolfini - now an art gallery.
The Old Duke
The Old Duke dates from 1780, and is a late Georgian style building. A music venue named after Duke Ellington, it’s famous for its live traditional New Orleans inspired jazz music, modern jazz and Blues with live music on every night of the week.
Hundreds of jazz posters on the walls give a sense of the history of the venue and there’s plenty of atmosphere - the crowd can become raucous at times. Often standing-room only, with traditional ciders and real ales, this is a must-visit for anyone with an interest in jazz or in Bristol’s music scene. There is external seating for use in summertime
The Llandoger Trow
Dating from around 1665, this attractive half-timbered building was damaged like much of Bristol by bombing in World War II, but more than half remains. The unusual name derives from Trows (flat bottomed barges that were built in the village of Llandogo around 20 miles away). Trows would have sailed to trade in Bristol.
There is a tradition that Daniel Defoe met Alexander Selkirk, the real life inspiration behind Robinson Crusoe here, and also that it inspired Robert Louis Stevenson’s creation of The Admiral Benbow in Treasure Island. The pirate Blackbeard may also have enjoyed a drink here.
There are reputed to be underground passages for smugglers, and the top floor is said to be haunted. The pub offers reasonably priced food and a restaurant and there is good external seating in summertime. The rooms inside are fairly small, and original beams and features are visible: but this pub does not have quite as much character as one might expect from its charming exterior.
61 Queen Charlotte Street
Dating from the early eighteenth century, this is another Grade II listed building, similar in design to houses in Queen Square.
Constructed of brick with limestone dressings, part of its charm is that the lines of the building are so noticeably off true. The left hand doorway has an attractive shell hood on scrolled brackets which is nowhere near horizontal. In the interior there are panelled rooms separated by folding doors.
