Stop 09 - Victoria Rooms
Stop 09: Victoria Rooms, Bristol's 1842 neoclassical concert hall, now home to the University of Bristol music faculty. Corinthian portico and bronze fountains.
At the junction of Queens Road and Park Street stands a perfectly symmetrical temple-fronted building in Bath stone, fronted by a fountain and bronze sea-horses. This is the Victoria Rooms, opened in 1842 as Bristol’s principal concert hall and now the music faculty of the University of Bristol.
What to see
The exterior is the reason you stop here - it is one of the best surviving Greek Revival facades in the South West, with a six-column Corinthian portico, a full tympanum of sculpted figures, and a pair of bronze sea-horse fountains added later. Charles Dickens gave public readings here; so did Jenny Lind. The building is not usually open to casual visitors, but if the music faculty has a public recital, the interior (a long galleried hall, beautifully restored in 2004) is open for the evening.
On the small green in front of the Rooms there is a bronze monument to Edward VII, unveiled in 1913.
How long to stay
Fifteen minutes for photos, the fountain and the monument. Longer if you have booked a concert.
Nearby stops
- Stop 07 - Clifton Village is six minutes west along Queens Road.
- Stop 10 - City Museum and Art Gallery is one minute south down Queens Road.
- Stop 11 - College Green and Park Street is five minutes downhill via Park Street.
Practical info
Step-free pavement around the building. No public facilities on site. Park Street downhill from here has a dozen cafes and pubs; the University campus is directly behind.
