News / Christmas Steps
The 19th century acrobat helping to tell history of Christmas Steps
With the aid of a balancing pole, a miniature tightrope walker makes his way confidently from one side of Christmas Steps to the other.
This is Carlos Trower, who escaped America as a child and lived on Christmas Steps in the 1870s.
He was an anti-slavery campaigner and philanthropist but much of his life remains a mystery.
A new project is attempting to unravel some of that mystery with help from architecture students from UWE and pupils from nearby Willow Park Primary School.
In association with Myers-Insole Local Learning, the masters students and primary school pupils have researched the history of the area to find out what it was like when Carlos lived here.
There is already a plaque to Carlos above I Am Acrylic at number 7, where he and his wife Annie and their baby daughter Celia lived above what in the 1870s was Ellen Hobbs’ Refreshment Rooms.
Willow Park students have imagined the conversations of what went on here and at other businesses including the White Horse Inn (now Trevor Jones Brass & Woodwind), a boot and shoe maker (now Dareshack), a tobacconist (now Karen Reilly’s dressmakers), and a greengrocer (now 20th Century Flicks).
Willow Park students imagined some of the overheard conversations in businesses on Christmas Steps in the 1870s
UWE student Amardeep Singh, who grew up in Easton, said: “It’s so great to see all of our plans and our ideas come to fruition…
“With architecture, it’s not just about designing buildings but designing spaces. Part of that is legacy, culture and community.”
Another masters student, Mustafa AlHawari from Syria, said: “We want to get a new plaque for Carlos Trower in order to celebrate his legacy.”
An exhibition about Carlos Trower has been curated by masters architecture students from UWE: Amardeep Singh, Mustafa AlHawari, Najah Mohammed, Olivia Elsey and Oneilla Weeratunge
Willow Park student Harley said: “What I most enjoyed about this exhibition and the work we did before this was that I got to find out about Carlos Trower’s history and his back story.
“We got to find out lots of different facts about him… back then, tightrope walkers had no safety nets!”
Zain said that he loved learning that the reason why Christmas Steps is so called is because of the chapel devoted to the Three Wise Men in Foster’s Almshouses at the top of the street.
And Angel recounted how during their research, she and her classmates learned some sign language as well as imagining what it was like to be circus performers in the 19th century, with Angel becoming ‘Angel the Voiceless Mime’.
Willow Park pupils learning more about Carlos Trower and Christmas Steps
An exhibition about Carlos Trower and Christmas Steps in the 1870s is taking place at Finis Gallery on Christmas Steps on Wednesday and Thursday from 3pm to 6pm
All photos: Bristol24/7
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