In some of the older commercial buildings in the city there are cellars, and the quickest access to these cellars was from the roadside via doors that opened directly onto the pavement. Perhaps we are most familiar with these cellar doors outside pubs, where the barrels of beer are still delivered through them.
This is just a little selection of these doors, and another little door thrown in for good measure… a little extra if you like.
Here we go:
Cellar doors with the addition of a metal strip and a tag by tagger Pi who seems to have tagged every street in Bristol, November 2019
This first door is the same one as the feature image, photographed a few months afterwards. Spot the difference?
When old meets new cellar doors, Bristol, December 2019No getting away from ‘street furniture’. Cellar doors nicely keyed-in with the stone pavement, Bristol, December 2019Cellar doors including pavement doors for deliveries, Bristol, December 2019Heavy-duty cellar doors, Bristol, July 2019Old wooden and less old metal cellar doors, Bristol, December 2019Old and probably no longer used cellar doors, Bristol, December 2019
And finally a little bonus door, with the emphasis on little.
Small door to under stairs store, Bristol, December 2019
So my friendly doorsters, that’s it for another week. Have a great weekend whatever you get up to.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
Doors 96 – A selection of doors from the Orchard Street/Lane area of Bristol
Just a quick one this week. A few doors that I photographed back in December just round the back of the Bristol Hippodrome. The houses around here survived the Blitz, unlike many others in the centre of town.
Green door with a boot scraper, Bristol, December 2019Door with a boot scraper, Bristol, December 2019Arched garden door with a boot scraper, Bristol, December 2019Fine door with a gorgeous awning, Bristol, December 2019Door, Bristol, December 2019Unusual panelled door, Bristol, December 2019
So, a set of period doors all of which I rather like in one of the older bits of the centre of Bristol.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors and you ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
I was wandering around Montpelier (Bristol) recently hunting down a specific piece of street art that I wanted to photograph (it’s actually on the right hand end wall of this building). My eye was drawn to this rather lovely door and then to the plaque above it. The cell behind the door is known as Charley’s box.
Charley Box plaque, Montpelier, Bristol, February 2020
Before 1836 there was no police force in Bristol, so until some kind of law and order was formally established Montpelier employed its own nightwatchman called Charley (I’m not sure I believe this). Charley had the powers of arrest and would grab unruly citizens and chuck them into this cell overnight until a sobering trip to the magistrates the following morning. I believe the building is now privately owned but the original door appears to still be there, which is lucky for this post.
Charley Box door, Montpelier, Bristol, February 2020
So only the one door this week – I have been rather busy I’m afraid.
If you like doors, you ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
I’m afraid that this week I have cheated a little, because I am using previously posted photographs, although they have been associated with my street art posts rather than my Thursday Doors ones so many of you will not have seen them before.
Since about 2017 or so, rabbits started to appear on walls all around Bristol. At first they were confined to well known graffiti hotspots but after a while they spread out until no part of the city was spared from the rabbit invasion. The charming rabbits are the work of #followmyrabbits AKA Nevergiveup and other names he paints under. The artist, I believe has moved away from Bristol, but you wouldn’t know it because new ones are turning up weekly.
Most of the bunnys are not on doors, but these ones are, so I thought I’d share them with you. There are mixed views on these cheerful decorations ranging from the ‘vandalism’ end of the scale right through to the tourist attraction, bringing in rabbit hunters to the city. Of course I love them and see them as a humerous and harmless way of brightening up the place. What do you think?
Nevergiveup, River Avon, Bristol, January 2020Nevergiveup, Hotwell Road, Bristol, July 2019Nevergiveup, North Street Green, Bristol, July 2019Nevergiveup, Bedminster, Bristol, April 2019Nevergiveup, Nelson Street, Bristol, April 2019Nevergiveup, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2018Nevergiveup, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, December 2018Nevergiveup, Moon Street, Bristol, June 2018NEVERGIVEUP, East Street, Bristol, April 2018NEVERGIVEUP, Moon Street, Bristol, April 2018
Apologies for my absence over the last couple of weeks but I have been way too busy and neglected my door stories.
If you like doors, you ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
The Bristol Hippodrome is part of the cultural ‘beating heart’ of the city and has been so since December 1912 when it was first opened. The history of the theatre is well worth reading about, but because this is a post about doors (and I am notoriously lazy) I would direct you to this magnificent specialist theatre history site – Arthur Lloyd.co.uk.
I have seen many great performances here including several operas by the Welsh National Opera, plays and of course pantomimes when the children were younger.
Another link I have with the old place is my mother performed here with the Sadler’s Wells National Opera in the 1950s as a principal dancer with the company. She has fond memories of the theatre and the city.
On to the doors. The feature photograph, also repeated below for those who look at these posts on smart phones, shows the main entrance to the Hippodrome. What you don’t see here is that every night after the theatre closes, several homeless people sleep in front of the doors where it is safe and dry – theatre staff tend to gently move them on in the morning as I walk past on my way to work. This is the 5th wealthiest nation in the world, something is very wrong!
Front entrance to the Bristol Hippodrome, Doors, December 2019Side doors (in need of a little TLC), Bristol Hippodrome, December 2019Access entrance doors, Bristol Hippodrome, Decmber 2019Fire exit doors, Bristol Hippodrome, December 2019Fire exit doors and quick exit after a performance, Bristol Hippodrome, December 2019The all important Stage Door for cast, musicians, tecnicians and groupies, Bristol Hippodrome, December 2019Ever wondered how they get the scenery in? Barn Doors, Bristol Hippodrome, December 2019
So there it is, my first door post of the new decade. May I wish you all a very happy 2020.
If you like doors, you ought to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
Norm has been encouraging people like us (Doorbies? Door fanciers? Doorists? Dooristas? – what are we called?) to use this last Door week of the year to look back and post some of our favourites from 2019 – this is a bit of a win-win for lazy/busy people like me because the hardest bit of this post is deciding what to include/exclude.
Here goes – the numbers don’t necessarily relate to my ranking
Doors used to prevent graffiti or an artistic expression? (posted this year)
Doors on a wall embellished by Ryder sitting over a Mr Klue piece, Bristol, January 2017
2. Door within a door – always works for me
Perfect door within a door, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, August 2019
3. A beautiful door pair
Great doors, great shutters, great colours, Fournier Street, London, April 2019
4. Train wagon door
Thursday Doors, Bristol Harbour Railway, January 2019
5. A quirky old door
Old red door, Wareham, Dorset, October 2019
6. A door no more
One of those doors that was a door but is no longer a door, Kingsdown, Bristol, March 2019
7. Blending in
Door, North Street, Bristol, Artist: Paul Monsters, February 2019
8. They don’t make them like this any more door
Alms house door, Bristol, March 2019
9. A favourite with visitors to Natural Adventures
Main front door to the house dating back to the 17th century, Lanhydrock House, Cornwall, August 2019
10. Door in need of a little TLC
Somewhere there is a door, the Harbourside, Bristol, November 2019
Of course there are so many other doors I would have liked to have included and this was not an easy job. Hope you liked this selection though and I look forward to a doortastic 2020.
I’ll follow Norm’s example and take a couple of weeks off, so have a fabulous Christmas all and see you next year.
You might like to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
Last weekend we made a trip across the Severn Estuary to see some friends who recently moved to Wales. This was our first visit, and I am sure not our last. After lunch we went for a walk along the southern bank of Llangorse Lake and, of course, I managed to turn the whole thing into a bit of a doorscursion. I hope you enjoy these doors as much as I did.
Side door, St Gastyn’s Church, Llangorse Lake, Wales, December 2019Outer door, St Gastyn’s Church, Llangorse Lake, Wales, December 2019Ornate door surround, St Gastyn’s Church, Llangorse Lake, Wales, December 2019Abandoned farmhouse doors, Llangorse Lake, Wales, December 2019Abandoned farm barn door, Llangorse Lake, Wales, December 2019Abandoned farm house out building door, Llangorse Lake, Wales, December 2019Entrance door, Prince of Wales bird hide, Llangorse Lake, Wales, December 2019Reedbeds, Prince of Wales bird hide, Llangorse Lake, Wales, December 2019
Next week I will probably do a round up of my favourite doors of 2019, but until then, I wish you all a fabulous week.
In the meantime, you might like to take a look at the Norm 2.0 blog – the originator of Thursday Doors where there are links to yet more doors in the comments section at the end.
