Features / things you probably didn't know
The medieval arcade now hidden behind a bin store
During a visit to Bristol in 1461, King Edward IV was entertained within the grand house of William Canynges on Redcliff Street.
In Memorials of the Canynges Family and Their Times by George Pryce, printed in 1854, he describes how the house would have “overlooked the fields then spread out in rich luxuriance as far as the eye could reach”.
The royal visit is depicted in a painting by Ernest Board which hangs at Bristol Museum:
‘Edward IV Being Entertained By William Canynges At His House in Redcliff Street, 1461’ by Ernest Board – courtesy of Bristol Museum & Art Gallery
The house fit for a king may no longer be standing but tantalising glimpses of it can still be seen, including a medieval arcade now obscured by a bin store.
The remains of what is believed to be a wall or tower of the Canynges’ grand home is also still visible from Ferry Street (named after the Redcliffe ferry that once crossed the harbour close to this spot).
This wall is also believed to have belonged to the great house of the Canynges family, who dominated the political and economic life of Bristol in the 14th and 15th century, and were major benefactors of St Mary Redcliffe church
The bin store at 97 Redcliff Street is a surviving fragment of a medieval arcade: “a rare survival of medieval walling in the city, heavily disguised as it is”, writes Bristol & Bath Heritage Consultancy director, Simon Cox.
William Canynges, whose tomb and effigy lies in the south transept of St Mary Redcliffe church, lived a remarkable life between 1399 and 1474.
When Edward IV made his visit to Bristol, Canynges owned a fleet of nine ships crewed by 800 sailors. He was an MP, five times mayor of Bristol and, after the death of his wife, became a priest.
A lean-to and bin store obscures the remains of a medieval arcade off Redcliff Street
At least these bins are protecting this rare survival of medieval walling
Bristol’s most historic bin store
All photos: Martin Booth
Read next:
- What happened to the minster in Bedminster?
- Bristol’s medieval parish boundary markers hidden in plain sight
- Inside the hidden church in the city centre
- The ferry that was here before Gaol Ferry Bridge
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