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Westbury College Gatehouse

Visited March 2024

Location Bristol
Entrance Fee No 
Railway Station Nearby No
Parking Roadside
Facilities None
Map

 

This is a strange little property, a medieval survivor swallowed up by modern-day Bristol. Found in the district of Westbury-on-Trym in North Bristol, this is the gatehouse to a college for priests, which stood on the site until it was burned down during the Civil War. Only this gatehouse and a few archways in the boundary walls of some domestic houses remain today.

 


 

 


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The original building was rectangular with four towers, one in each corner. Two of these survive today, but built into a modern block of flats. The college was built between 1459-1469 by John Carpenter, the Bishop of Worcester and Westbury .

 

The gatehouse is used today as a meeting space for various groups connected to the nearby church, who look after the building for the National Trust, who officially own it. It is apparently possible to get a key to have a look round, but we didn't have any luck with this. Instead we had to be satisfied with peeping in through the window. This shows a room with a vaulted ceiling, and what look like some beautiful ceiling bosses- shame we couldn't get a closer look though!

 

 


 

 


 

Not far from the site the Westbury Wildlife Park, a small area of woodland and riverside walks. It is usually open at the weekend, and is a lovely place to take children. As well as the walks there is a play area, a tiny fairyland for small children to play with and a cafe and toilets. There are sometimes family events with live music put on at weekends.

 

There is a car park for the Wildlife Park, and from there it is a pleasant stroll next to the River Trym to get to the gatehouse.

 


 

 


 

 

 


 

More info: > No Official Website

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