‘New’ photo credit, Ryan Francis (Little Ryan). ‘Old’ photo source, Paul Townsend.

Little Ryan looks at how Bristol looks now, through his eyes and what it looked like hundreds of years ago.

I was researching what St Pauls Carnival was like back in the day and I couldn’t find that many photos of it. So, I thought, Ryan, wouldn’t it be great to see what Bristol as a whole was like back in the day? I found lots and lots of images of Bristol from 1880s+, picked my favourites and went around the same areas, trying  to mimic the original shots. This was easier said than done, as some of the buildings and areas don’t even exist anymore. This is because Bristol was bombed so badly during the war

Anyway, thats enough waffling from me, I hope you enjoy! Scroll away!

1. Baldwin Street, Centre

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Western Daily Press Building, Baldwin Street, Bristol (date unknown)  vs  Now – Newminster House, Baldwin Street, Bristol (08/07/2014)

2. Belle Vue Road, Easton 

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Belle Vue Road, Bristol, Easton (date unknown, possibly the 1950s) vs Now – Belle Vue Road, Bristol, Easton (08/07/2014)

3. Belle Vue Road, Easton 

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Belle Vue Road, Bristol, Easton (date unknown, possibly the 1950s) vs Now – Belle Vue Road, Bristol, Easton (08/07/2014)

4. Bristol Bridge, Town

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Bristol Bridge (1910) vs Now – Bristol Bridge (08/07/2014)

5. High Street, Town

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Scholastic Trading Company, Bristol (1930s) vs Now – Abandoned Building (08/07/2014)

6. Castle Park, Town

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Peter Street, Bristol (1950s)  vs Now – Castle Park (08/07/2014)

7. Stapleton Road, Easton

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Stapleton Road, Bristol (1918) vs Now – Stapleton Road, Coach House (08/07/2014)

8. Bristol Cathedral

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Bristol Cathedral on a winter’s day (1933) vs Now – Bristol Cathedral on a summer’s day (08/07/2014)

9. College Green

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Council House, College Green (date unknown) vs Now – lots of trees, College Green (08/07/2014)

10. Corn Street, Centre

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Corn Street (1914) vs Now – Corn Street (08/07/2014)

11. The Plough, Easton 

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – The Plough Pub, Easton (Date unknown) vs Now – The Plough Pub, Easton (08/07/2014)

12. Belle Vue Road, Easton

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Belle Vue Road, Easton (1950’s) vs Now – Belle Vue Road (08/07/2014)

This photo means a lot to me. This is where I grew up. In the park (right) when I was a child, I fell off the fireman pole and cut my eyebrow open on the corner of a pram. After seeing the old photo (left), I wonder, if the building still existed, would I have this massive scar on my eyebrow today?

13. High Street, Town 

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – High Street, Town (Date unknown) vs Now – High Street, Town (08/07/2014)

14. Muller Road, Eastville

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – New Road, Eastville (1950’s) vs Now – Muller Road, Easville (08/07/2014)

15. Park Street

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Park Street (1950s) vs Now – Park Street (08/07/2014)

16. Primark, Town 

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

 Then – Lewis’s (1954) vs Now – Primark (08/07/2014)

Thanks to Luggage and Case Store for letting me use their building.

17. Town 

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – rebuilding Bristol after the war (1950’s) vs Now – town (08/07/2014)

Thanks to The Bay Horse pub for letting use their roof for this photo.

18. St George  

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – St George fountain junction (1933) vs Now – St George fountain junction (08/07/2014)

19. Broadmead 

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Philadelphia Street (1950s) vs Now – Broadmead (08/07/2014)

Please note, the modern photo is not from the exact spot taken in the original photo. As you can tell, this area does not exist anymore, so it was hard to find the exact photo spot. However, in the background of the original, you can see Circomedia (the church), on Portland square. Where I’m standing in the modern photo, that’s roughly the distance from Portland square and Circomedia. I can assure you that Philadelphia Street is now Broadmead today.

20. Cabot Tower

Photo source (Old): Paul Townsend. Photo Credit (New), Ryan Francis (Little Ryan).

Then – Cabot Tower (1898) vs Now – Cabot Tower (08/07/2014)

If you found this interesting or if you have any old images of Bristol, tweet them to me @LittleRyan92. I will do a Part 2 if you found this interesting.

For more information, check out Paul Townsend’s FlickR. He has hundreds of pictures and information explaining the history of Bristol.

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About the author

Little Ryan

Ryan Francis was one of Rife's founding Young Journalists. He is mainly known as Little Ryan for doing his comedy shows on YouTube called TheLittleRyanShow. He is also a Freelancer and works with a small upcoming business called Watson Media. He can mostly be found backflipping out of bed and making a cuppa tea.

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