History

One of the ancient streets within the old city, St Mary-le-Port Street had connected High Street with the Castle to its east until the latter’s demolition in 1656, when it was quickly replaced by a series of new streets. As a result of this rebuilding, it joined High Street and the important crossing point of Bristol Bridge with the main route to London through Old Market. However, 19th-century depictions of St Mary-le-Port demonstrate its narrowness for much of its history, making it unlikely ever to have been a major throughway. The church which gave the street its name stood on the southern side, and the parish church of St Peter’s stood opposite the eastern end of the street. The corporation demolished two houses here in the 18th century to create a new cheese market, but this was not a success as it had been filled in again by the early 19th century. The New Rooms, a rival to the well-established Assembly Rooms, had been established there by 1828, but these were evidently also not a success. In common with other parts to the east of the city centre, there was some evidence of industrial activity here in the early 20th century, although many of the premises here continued to be a mixture of residential and commercial use. The area was devastated by bombing during the Second World War, and was cleared away in redevelopment after the war. The hollow shell of the parish church remains, surrounded by the Bank of England Annexe that was built at the corner of Wine Street and High Street. There are no other reminders of the layout of the ancient streets here, all of which now lie underneath the new Castle Park.