Thekla

A modern art gallery, shortlisted for Museum of the Year 2016.

A 2.4 ha garden square in the centre, originally laid out outside Bristol's city walls in an area known as the Town Marsh. Its planning started in 1699 and construction finished in 1727, being named after Queen Anne. It has seen a turbulent history, with much of the north and west side buildings being destroyed during the riots of 1831 and subsequently rebuilt. From 1937 to 1992 the square was scarred by a dual carriageway road crossing it diagonally, which created a lot of traffic to flow through the area. After this became unbearable by the 1990s, the road was closed and demolished by the late 1990s, and the garden restored to its pre 1937 glory. Although originally a residential neighbourhood, the buildings surrounding the square are nowadays used as offices, and many are listed under heritage protection. The centre of the square hosts the iconic statue of William III, a sculpture by John Michael Rysbrack who cast it in 1733 in brass and erected it in 1736 to signify the city's loyalty.

Bridge over the Harbour, known for the iconic counter weights of the lifting section which resemble the shape of movie character Shrek, hence its popular name with the locals. Its formal name Pero's Bridge is a reference to Pero Jones, a Caribbean slave who arrived in Bristol through the harbour channel below the bridge in the 18th. Although the bridges hydraulic mechanism allows it to open and close swiftly, it only does so rarely because the ferry was designed explicitly to pass under the bridge without it needing to be lifted.

King Street is now the heart of Bristol's theatre-land (see 'Old Vic' below) but it once lead down to the docks at Welsh Back, where the old sailing trows (a type of sailing barge) used to dock after their journeys from South Wales. The street has changed little since those days.

History of Bristol

Original burial ground for the Society of Friends, better known today as the Quakers. They were a religious society, split away from the Church of England, and formed a closed community with a complex social and economic structure spanning from Europe to North America and the Caribbean in the 18th century. Many Quakers lived and worked in Bristol. They became the first group to oppose slave trade in 1760, a remarkable point of view considering many Quakers owed their wealth directly or indirectly to the slave trade in Bristol.