College Green, Bristol
| College Green | |
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College Green showing Queen Victoria statue, Cathedral and Council House
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 College Green
 College Green shown within Bristol |
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| OS grid reference | ST584727 |
| Coordinates | 51°27′09″N 2°36′05″W / 51.4526°N 2.6015°WCoordinates: 51°27′09″N 2°36′05″W / 51.4526°N 2.6015°W |
College Green is a public open space in Bristol, England. The Green takes the form of a segment of a circle with its apex pointing east, and covers 1.1 hectares (2.7 acres). The road named College Green forms the north-eastern boundary of the Green, the Bristol Cathedral marks the south side, and City Hall (formerly the Council House) closes the Green in an arc to the north-west.
College Green is owned by the Dean and Chapter of Bristol Cathedral, and managed by Bristol City Council.
Originally a small hill north of the River Avon separated from Brandon Hill to the north west by a narrow gully, College Green was enclosed to form the precincts of St Augustine's Abbey (now Bristol Cathedral) in the 12th century. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the abbey became a collegiate church and its precincts thenceforth became known as 'College Green'.
The Bristol High Cross was moved here from its original location at the junction of High, Wine, Broad and Corn streets, where it had been considered a traffic hazard, in 1733. In 1762 the Green was levelled and laid out as a raised park with stone boundary walls, railings and formal promenades crossing at its centre. The High Cross was relegated to a corner of the Green, and in 1768 it was given to Henry Hoare for use as a garden ornament at Stourhead, where it can still be seen.
The name 'College Green' also applied to the road which passed on either side of the Green. The southern leg of this formed part of the main route out of Bristol heading to the south-west and separated the Green from the Cathedral, whilst the north-eastern leg led towards Clifton. In 1850 a replica of the High Cross was erected and placed at the apex of the Green. This remained here until a statue of Queen Victoria took its place in 1888, at which time the Cross was moved to the centre of the Green, at the intersection of the formal promenades. For the next sixty years the Green remained a leafy oasis, insulated from the busy roads on either side by tall trees, though slightly diminished by the removal of the outer row of trees on the north-eastern side for road-widening in 1926.
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Wikipedia