The Dutch House in Bristol

A topographical carte-de-visite showing a view of the Dutch House (often given the prefix 'Old') in Bristol.

Built as a private residence in 1676, it dominated the mediaeval crossroads in the heart of ancient Bristol. In 1810 the building became the Castle Bank, and subsequently had a succession of retail and office uses. By 1866, under the auspices of hatter TW Tilly, it had gained fake battlements with cannon, a weather vane, and a flagpole. It is thought that he may have given the building its name, and started the story that its timber frame was constructed in Holland and then brought over and assembled in England. The much-loved building was destroyed by an air raid in 1940.

Photographer unidentified.

Published by Provost of Covent Garden, London.