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Broad Street, BristolBristol’s Old City, since 1295

Broad Street, number by number

The Grand Hotel

Successor to the White Lion, one of Bristol’s most famous inns since at least 1517.

The Grand Hotel
The Grand Hotel Jwslubbock, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The Grand Hotel stands on the site of three inns: the White Lion, recorded as the “Whyt Lyon” in 1517, its medieval neighbour the White Hart, and the smaller Plume of Feathers. Part of the site was Oxenford’s Inn as early as 1295. The present building, by Foster and Wood in an Italianate Renaissance style, opened in January 1869 and was named the Grand Hotel in 1874.

The Beatles, Cary Grant and Leslie Howard stayed here, and in 1964 the Rolling Stones were turned away from the bar for not wearing jackets. See the inns of Broad Street for more.

Historic „L. C. Smith & Corona Typewriters Inc. 14 inch“ as decoration in Hotel Mercure Bristol Grand (The Grand), Broad
Historic „L. C. Smith & Corona Typewriters Inc. 14 inch“ as decoration in Hotel Mercure Bristol Grand (The Grand), Broad Street, Bristol BS1 2EL (2023-09-14) Bernd Schwabe, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Seen at night on the floor in a corridor of the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel, Broad Street, Bristol, unspoken: „Party's
Seen at night on the floor in a corridor of the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel, Broad Street, Bristol, unspoken: „Party's over, please take away the glasses“ (2023-09-16) Bernd Schwabe, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Seen at night on the floor in a corridor of the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel, Broad Street, Bristol, unspoken: „Party's
Seen at night on the floor in a corridor of the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel, Broad Street, Bristol, unspoken: „Party's over, please take away the tray“ (2023-09-16) Bernd Schwabe, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Grand on Broad Street 
The Grand on Broad Street  (2021-06-08) Neil Owen , CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
White Lon and White Hart, Broad Street, Bristol, pre 1865
White Lon and White Hart, Broad Street, Bristol, pre 1865 (1909) Samuel Loxton, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Do you remember Broad Street?

A coffee and an email at NetGates in 1996, a haircut at Wild At Heart, brunch at Ironworks, or a desk in the offices upstairs: if you have a photo or a story about No. 51 or its neighbours, from any decade, we would love to see it.

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