Stapleton Road November morning

There are some old buildings in Stapleton Road.







Armoury Square is an unusual place.





As well as the Armoury Tavern pub on the corner, there is Armoury Square itself. It isn't really a square, just a short road. At the bottom of the road are these two houses with a bust of someone in between.


What's the story with this, I wonder?


I've also heard that there is an ancient standing stone in one of the back gardens here.


This picture (circa 1960s judging by the Ford Zodiac) shows the two houses but with a different figure in the alcove. It looks like a cricketer with a raised bat. Famous cricketer Dr W.G. Grace had a surgery somewhere near here.

Click on this picture for link to Flickr site about Easton



Colourful fruit and veg.








This church is still in use.


St Jude's church. No longer a church but used for something.


PS Just found out a bit more here

"Built and established during the period 1774 -1820. The Armoury from which the Square takes it's name was the base for Militia regiments as well as Bristol's own Arsenal. It's outline plan is partly preserved by the early to mid Victorian Square, but little is known of it's original appearance. Ashmead's Bristol Map of 1828 suggests it to be a large and long Barrack Block, centrally placed, with symmetrically planned ancillary buildings. By ca. 1855 it becomes Armoury Place. In 1887 Colston Villas was built. Rebuilt in 1976 it was soon noticed that the building at the North end of the Square had an early 18th century bust of Edward Colston, Bristol slave trader. It was replaced by a replica and the original placed within Bristol City Museum. In 1881, Mr Packer, who was an ex-employee of Frys, founded his company at 46 Armoury Square. Originally employed three people who were each paid 2/6d (12.5p) a week. Packer's is now LEAF UK, Greenbank. "


So the bust is of Edward Colston.

Easton Faces

St Mark's Church, Easton




The church has a great nest of gargoyles on the top










They're a rum bunch, aren't they?

This is what Ben Tillett (born Easton 1860) said about St Mark's:

Those of my readers who have passed through Stapleton Road Station will perhaps remember that church on the right on their way to Wales from London. There is a square tower to the church, and on each corner of it there are creeping reptiles and gargoyles with menacing countenance, and a ferocious snarl on their ugly mouths. They were always a wonder and a terror to me. What were they doing there? I could not understand that some demented architect had borrowed the beastly shapes church of medieval lore, or that perverted brains had fashioned the horrible shapes in hate or fear. My only consolation was the thought that they were well fastened down.

Once, at a lesson given by a flighty-brained teacher, I asked her what the animals at the top of the church meant. The alarming news was instantly vouchedsafe that the beasts were to watch the four quarters of the earth against the devils and enemies of Christians, to pounce upon them, rend them, and thus they remained everlastingly on the watch. "Would they eat them up. teacher?" This timid interrogation proved startling, but a ready "Yes, and eat them up," came to her story-telling lips. And she added in reply to our almost tearful pleadings that the corner monsters' victims did not include little boys unless the little boys played truant.

These fatal words proved our undoing. Try as we could, and three of us solemnly vowed to dodge these corner devils for all times, on the Sunday following two of us broke the united front. Deserted by our frightened school-fellow we stayed outside the school chained to the spot: we were playing truant, challenging in our terror the nearest devil on our side of the road. We fixed our gaze on the worst and ugliest of the bad and ugly lot. We did not look at each other, for fear had petrified. We watched and watched for what appeared a long time, but there was no movement. Then some shadow must have cut across the back of the gargoyle. It seemed to us that it moved. Spellbound we watched, and two nervous little hands found each other, as my fellow-watcher's trembling fingers clutched mine. Then the figure seemed to squirm like a cat as though about to jump. We saw the twist of the body, the mouth snapped, the eyes blinked, and thereupon two screaming, howling boys ran madly away, gasping, white with fear of the nightmare devils, and finally falling down helpless and scared to death. That ended the beginning of my theological learning.

All Hallows Hall, All Hallows Road

This building also has some interesting figures.

Bristol Museum

The Banksy exhibition is now
gone.
But traces still remain...

St Stephen's Church

I climbed the tower of St Stephen's Church as part of Open Doors day.
It was built in the 1400's but there are bits they think are older dating back to the 13th century.

It was originally on the harbourside until that bit of the harbour was filled in. Part of its parish is the Bristol Channel including the islands of Steepholm and Flatholm.

The tower is nearly 15o feet high and you get there via a very worn stone spiral staircase. They've hung a rope down to hang on to.

At the top there are good views of the centre.




Cabot Tower











The turrets on the top of the church look like little churches themselves.






The one with the weather vane is more ornate.




The turrets have tensioning weights attached to them that are adjusted by a screw thread. Did they have these in the 15th century?



Another view of the tower.



Below is a detail of the tower.



At the side of the window there are these figures -
isn't he a cute little fella?




I discovered some interesting stone faces in that area that I'll post soon.

Round Manhole Covers - Greenbank

on a sunny September day in 2009 A.D.









If manhole covers could talk, it would be a bit spooky.



Who put them there? What are they for?

No one knows.

Railings as Nature Intended

Most railings we see today are in urban environments. This picture shows some railings in the wild.

It puts me in mind of Monarch of the Glen, a famous painting by Sir Edwin Landseer.

Portishead

After the bitter railings-related disappointments of the last few weeks, I decided to treat myself to a walk in the country.
I took the bus out to Portishead, a small town situated about ten miles from Bristol on the coast.
The main street is level but behind it there is a steep hill where most of the people seem to live. From the top you get good views of the Bristol Channel and Wales. Halfway across the estuary lies Denny Island (above); a tiny place, but it marks the border between England and Wales.
Denny island. Denny island







Inland from Portishead is the marshy Gordano valley. The M5 runs through it, just after the Avonmouth Bridge heading south. Apart from that, it's a very peaceful place.



The old straight track. This footpath runs under the M5 to come out in Portbury.
The willow is the first to shed its leaves.



Teasels.






This is what people call cracked mud. At least some people do.


I chanced upon some farm buildings.




I couldn't see anybody around. Perhaps they were all hiding and watching me. They do that a lot in the country, I've seen it in films.









Over in the distance, these beasts roamed the earth.














Then to Portbury village - not to be confused with Portbury dock. A different place altogether. Portbury was an important place in Anglo-Saxon times. There aren't any remains from that era, but some buildings seem very old. For example, this priory below.




There is an old earthworks there, but it didn't seem accessible to the public.



And the manhole covers!! They have to be seen to be believed. Such variety!

This isn't all of them. Only highlights.



A Stanton Trojan 75



Anonymous circular covers.







Can't quite see the writing on this one.










I think the one above is made by Dudley of Exeter.




More random covers.






Below: A Stanton and Staveley Chieftain 600. Stanton and Staveley were two ironworks in Derbyshire.


A Stanton (what's happened to Staveley?)
Saracen 600







More random drains for your amusement.









Then there's St. Mary's Church, Portbury. Dating back to the 12th century.
Wikipedia








Finally, here's some lichen growing on the church