Barton Hill, Bristol

Barton Hill is an area of Bristol, just to the east of the city centre and Bristol Temple Meads railway station.

It includes residential, retail and industrial premises and is crossed by major roads, railway tracks and the feeder canal leading to Bristol Harbour.

Geology
The solid geology of Barton Hill is Triassic Redcliffe Sandstone.

History
Barton was a manor just outside Bristol mentioned in the Domesday Book as Bertune apud Bristov, and later in 1220 as Berton Bristoll. In Saxon and early Norman times the manor was held by the king, and was known as Barton Regis. The manor gave its name to Barton Regis Hundred, the hundred. Sloping ground at the southern end of the hundred, leading down to St Philip's Marsh, became known as Barton Hill.

The Great Western Cotton Factory on Great Western Lane was designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the early 19th century. Great Western Cotton factory opened in 1838 and closed in 1925. From a plan of 1839 the sheds are seen to have contained up to 1600 looms. The main spinning mill was demolished in 1968.

After World War 2, many homes in Barton Hill, Lawrence Hill, Easton and St. Paul's were destroyed due to being bombed. A large housing estate was built in the area during the 1950s and 1960s to house many of the homeless residents of inner city Bristol. Nine tower blocks and two blocks of maisonettes were constructed during this period of time. Many residents of this area and other inner city Bristol areas could not all be housed in these estates and had to be moved to other newly built larger outlying estates such as Southmead, Lawrence Weston, Knowle West and Hartcliffe.

Music

 * Barton Hill is a stronghold of drum and bass with notable artist and Mercury Prize-winning Roni Size/Reprazent having a studio in the area, with his album Return of V showing Barton Hill on the cover.
 * During 1977 and 1978 Barton Hill Youth Centre was a popular venue for punk and new wave acts to play. Among the bands that appeared were Siouxsie and the Banshees, Subway Sect, Slaughter and the Dogs, Adam and the Ants, Cocksparrer, Wayne County and the Electric Chairs and local acts including The Media, The Pigs and The Pop Group. It was probably Bristol's first live punk venue. However escalating violence at the gigs contributed to its short lifespan as a concert venue.

Arts

 * In Bristol Studio is an Art and design studio which has been based in the old Cotton Mill on Great Western Lane since 2006. The Cotton Mill has been converted into work space for artists, designers and makers. Also providing workshops for ceramics, printmaking and woodwork.
 * Barton Hill Artists are a free collective of locally based artists who specialise in community art activism and community based public installation. Their work includes a 90 ft mosaic on the Ducie Road railway bridge in the area, and a mural in Gaunts Ham Park, in nearby Lawrence Hill, Bristol.
 * The Twisted Pixie, who produces psychedelic art for part of Bristol's psytrance scene, also resides in Barton Hill.
 * Travelling Light is a children's theatre company based at Wellspring Settlement, formerly Barton Hill Settlement.
 * For Valentine's Day 2020 a Banksy artwork appeared on the side wall of a house in Marsh Lane. Shortly after, it was vandalised.

Barton House evacuation
In the afternoon of 14 November 2023, a major incident was declared when 400 residents, including around 100 children, were asked to leave their homes in Barton House, in Barton Hill, after a major structural fault was discovered.

A newsroom page of the Bristol City Council (BCC) website says that Barton House had recently been subject to surveys to assess options for the future of the building due to its age and method of construction. Quoting: "The surveys undertaken to three flats out of the 98 in the block indicate that in the event of a fire, explosion or large impact, there is a risk to the structure of the block. As a precautionary measure and to allow for further, more in depth surveys, residents in the block are being asked to leave Barton House immediately."

Bristol councillor Kye Dudd, a cabinet member for housing services and energy, said that Barton House was not constructed according to plans and that issues were found with its concrete sections. Dudd said: "The issue is within the construction of the building and the job that was done at the time, it wasn't built to the design specs - that's the problem we're dealing with." BCC said there was no record of any structural surveys of Barton House after remedial works were carried out around 1970; nationally, such surveys were not required by law until the Building Safety Act 2022.

Bristol City mayor Marvin Rees said that Barton House might not have been built [in 1958] to the original design specification. He continued that there was a “lack of structural ties between the floors and the load-bearing external walls” and that less concrete had been used than the original plans had specified.

At near 10 am on 17 November, residents held a protest at Bristol City Hall along with members of the community group Acorn. The protestors had gathered inside the City Hall to "hold the council accountable" for the treatment the residents feel they have received since they had been forced to evacuate. The protest ended when residents heard BCC was removing furniture from Barton House flats. Councillor Yassin Mohamud said BCC had not communicated with the residents well but no belongings had been removed without permission.

The protest continued at Barton House and police were called to settle the dispute. BCC released a statement to give more details about what was happening with the situation: "The evacuation is precautionary to allow for further, more in depth surveys, and a fuller analysis of the building's structure." Further: "We don't know yet how long residents will need to continue living away from their homes, this will depend on the work we're carrying out now. You can visit Barton House at any time during the day to collect belongings and essential items you may need."

BCC released an update 29 November saying that survey work is still being carried out to assess a major structural fault. Mayor Rees has said that BCC will know about the future of the building by 15 December 2023 and that BCC's attitude was "not to inconvenience people". He also said that BCCs' actions were "proportionate to… put the safety of the residents first". A resident said to the BBC that it is likely Barton House will have to be demolished "given that it was shored up in 1970." BCC also released an update for people staying in local hotels.

On 15 December in a letter for the residents of Barton House, they were told that the interim results from the surveys that had taken place were now with BCC. The letter gave a date for a meeting to take place on 18 December at Bristol City Hall. BCC's growth and regeneration executive John Smith said that he was pleased to inform the residents that BCC was analysing and discussing the results with surveyors: "By Monday afternoon we will be able to tell you [the residents] more about what the new surveys tell us and what that means for the future." However the tenants of Barton House doubted whether they would back in their homes soon. A representative said: "I can’t see us being back for Christmas... It looks like Christmas is going to very bleak."