Black Castle Public House

Black Castle Public House
General information
Town or city Bristol
Country England
Completed 1745-55
Design and construction
Client William Reeve
Architect William Halfpenny or James Bridges

Black Castle Public House is a historic building in Junction Rd, Brislington, Bristol, England. It is also known as Arno's Castle.

It was built in 1745—1755 as a folly sham castle and office, but may have originally been a stable block and laundry for the lord of the manor.[1] The building was probably designed by either by William Halfpenny or James Bridges, for William Reeve of Mount Pleasant, now the Arno’s Court Hotel from which it is now separated by a major road junction.[2] Reeve was a prominent local Quaker and business man.

It is built from pre-cast black copper-slag blocks from Reeve's foundry at Crew's Hole. They were cast from waste, solving the problem of disposing of the large amounts of waste produced by the industry, and made more profit for the brassworks.[3] Reeve went bankrupt in 1775 and his house and business were sold to a member of the Tonge family, who were important slave traders.

Much of the freestone carving and dressings are reputed to have come from the city's demolished medieval gateways, and St Werburghs Church , rebuilt by James Bridges in 1758—1761. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building.[4] Arno's Court Triumphal Arch used to stand in front of the building but was moved in 1912 approximately 100 metres away.

The building is now a public house and immediately adjacent to the car park of a large Sainsbury's store.

Black Castle public house
Black Castle public house, Bristol

References

  1. ^ "The Black Castle". Pub Explorer. Archived from the original on 2007-01-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20070127085327/http://www.pub-explorer.com/somerset/pub/blackcastlebrislington.htm. Retrieved 2007-03-19. 
  2. ^ "The Black Castle of Arno’s Vale". Stories of Bristol. http://weldgen.tripod.com/bristol-history-com/id50.html. Retrieved 2007-03-19. 
  3. ^ "Locally supplied goods:brass industry". Port Cities: Bristol. http://www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/showNarrative.php?sit_id=1&narId=9&nacId=13. Retrieved 2007-03-19. 
  4. ^ "Black Castle Public House". Images of England. http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=379848. Retrieved 2007-03-16. 

See also

Venues
Festivals
Museums, Galleries and Public art
Parks
Past attractions
Churches
All Saints' · Bristol Cathedral · Bristol Community Church · Buckingham Baptist Chapel · Chapel of the Three Kings of Cologne · Christ Church, Clifton Down · Christ Church with St Ewen · Church of Holy Trinity, Hotwells · Church of Holy Trinity, Stapleton · Church of the Holy Trinity with St Edmund · Church of St John the Baptist, Bristol · City Road Baptist Church · Cotham Church · Counterslip Baptist Church · Clifton Cathedral · Crofts End Church · Holy Trinity Church, Kingswood · Holy Trinity Church, Westbury on Trym · New Room, Bristol · Pro-Cathedral of the Holy Apostles · St Mary Redcliffe · Redland Chapel · St. Augustine Church (Bristol) · St Augustine the Less Church, Bristol · St George's Church, Brandon Hill · St James' Priory, Bristol · St John the Baptist, Frenchay · St Luke's Church, Brislington · St Mark's Church, Bristol · St Mary le Port Church, Bristol · St Mary on the Quay · St Mary's Church, Henbury · St Matthews Church, Cotham · St Michael on the Mount Without · St Nicholas, Bristol · St Peter and St Paul, Bristol · St Peter, Bristol · St Peters Church, Bishopsworth · St Philip and Jacob, Bristol · St Stephen's Church, Bristol · St Thomas the Martyr, Bristol · St Werburgh's Church, Bristol · St. Paul's Church, Bristol · Temple Church, Bristol · Trinity Centre · Whitefield's Tabernacle, Bristol · Whitefield's Tabernacle, Kingswood · Woodlands Christian Centre
Pubs