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.

Review

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