College Green, Bristol

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Coordinates: 51°27′09″N 2°36′05″W / 51.4526, -2.6015


Shown within Bristol and the UK

College Green is a public open space in Bristol, England. On the south side of the Green stand (from west to east) the Bristol Central Library, Abbey Gatehouse (mid 12th century); Bristol Cathedral; the facades of four 18th century terraced houses, now converted into offices; the Royal Hotel (1864). On the northwest side of the Green stands the Council House behind a water feature. On the east side of the Green runs a busy street, also known as College Green. On the far side is a mixture of shops and offices of various dates, together with the Lord Mayor's Chapel, St Mark's Church. On the Green are statues of Queen Victoria and Raja Rammohun Roy.

Originally a small hill north of the Avon, separated from Brandon Hill to the north by a narrow gully, it was enclosed to form the precincts of St Augustine's Abbey in the 12th century. After the Dissolution the Abbey church became Bristol Cathedral. The hill was levelled in 1950 during the building of the Council House to form its present roughly triangular shape. A plaque near the centre records that the Green still belongs to the Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral.

From 1733 it was the site of the Bristol High Cross, honouring various British monarchs. The statue was then given in 1768 to Stourhead gardens and can be seen there today.^[1]. A replica was made by John Norton in 1851 and sited on College Green until the architects building the new council offices had removed in the late 1940s. The Bristol Civic Society purchased the remains in 1950 and re-erected the truncated remains seen today in Berkeley Square.^[2], ^[3], ^[4]

These days, the green is used as a "hang out" area for the teens and university students of Bristol, especially the goth and emo communities.^{[citation needed]} It was under a group dispersal order until April 2007. The order was a result of repeated violence and underage drinking in the area. The order has since come into effect again, with a review at the end of the school summer holidays. On Saturday 21st July, a protest took place against the dispersal order and around 80 people attended. The protest gained media coverage in the Bristol Evening Post. Despite this second dispersal order, College Green has often been left unattended by the police, enabling those who it hoped to get rid of to return.

Several scenes of series 1 & 2 of E4 teen drama Skins have been filmed here.