1200s - 1800s
In the 13th century a Carmelite Friary stood on the site of Colston Hall. It was replaced in Tudor times by a mansion known as the Great House and it is known that Queen Elizabeth I stayed at the Great House on a visit to Bristol in 1574
In 1707, Edward Colston acquired the house and established the Colston Boys’ school. Colston died in 1721 but the school continues under his name to this day (moving out of the Great House in 1857). In 1861 the Colston Hall Company bought the land off the boys' school to fund their project of building a concert hall in the city. After demolishing the Great House, Colston Hall opened to the public on 20 September 1867.
Early in the morning of 1 September 1898, a fire broke out in Clark’s clothing factory that spread to the hall. The horrific damage can be seen in this image on this page. In the auditorium, only the walls remained, and the hall’s impressive organ was completely destroyed.
Probably due to the fire, we have been unable to find out a great deal about the types of events which took place at the hall. We do know that the Bristol Choral Society, who still regularly perform at the hall have performed here since the choir was founded in 1889.
