One of Bristol city centre’s most infamous ‘eyesore’ buildings has finally been put up for sale - after a local council chief urged the brewery that own it to do something with the building.
The old Seamen’s Church on Prince Street has been empty and derelict for decades with the church building itself left bombed out by the Luftwaffe in the Second World War.
But now it’s up for sale - with the brewery that own it asking for around £550,000 for the building.
Read next: The fascinating history of Bristol eyesore that has lay derelict for decades
The building itself will require many times more than that sale price to sort out - inside the four floors of the concrete building next to the historic church are completely trashed, the church itself has two floors but a lot of internal damage, and the Victorian structure of the church is listed, and on the ‘At Risk’ register compiled by Historic England.
Last year, Bristol Live revealed how Bristol City Council cabinet member Cllr Nicola Beech had written to the building’s owner - the Yorkshire brewery Samuel Smith’s - demanding they do something about the building.
The brewery also own a vacant plot of land nearby on Broad Quay next to the Arnolfini, which has been left empty and remains undeveloped and inaccessible. Cllr Beech’s exhortations appear to have worked, with Samuel Smith’s engaging Bristol-based agents Burston Cook to sell the building. Burston Cook describe the church and institute as ‘a landmark freehold character building with development potential.
“The building would readily suit conversion to residential, or alternative commercial uses, subject to planning. and has an approximate gross internal area of 8,100 sq ft.
“The building dates back to 1880 and was used as a shore base for missionaries to spread the Gospel to the crews of the ships using the Bristol Channel. The building is of local historic interest and is within the City and Queen Square conservation area. It is a site with development potential,” they added.
There is a lot of work to do to convert the building to bring it back into use, and a hint of the work involved comes with the fact that Burston Cook are not allowing any viewings inside of the building because there’s asbestos exposed in there.
There’s a range of possibilities for the building, but one group has long proposed one use for it. The Bristol Radical History Group and other academics and campaigners have suggested it would be a perfect location for their proposal for a slavery and abolition museum and visitors’ centre, which will tell the history of Bristol’s involvement in slavery - from Saxon times through to the transatlantic slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the city’s role in the abolition movement in the 19th century.
That campaign initially focused on the council-owned O&M Shed building on the corner of Redcliffe Bridge and Welsh Back back in 2018, but the city council decided instead to sell it for restaurant development - even going as far as buying a huge house boat that was moored next to it for £1.4m, to free up the building to be converted into a restaurant. That project fell through because of the pandemic, but it is now being converted into Bristol’s first Box Park venue.
The Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, said he is not particularly convinced by the calls for Bristol to have some kind of museum, heritage centre or visitors’ centre focused on the city’s slave trade past, despite such venues being popular and valued in other cities with major involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, like Liverpool and Nantes.
After the O&M Shed was disposed of by the city council, the Abolition Shed campaign switched their attention to the Old Seamen’s Church, and have been working on plans for it. Those plans also include the other plot of empty land next to the Arnolfini that is owned by Samuel Smith’s, which the project want to turn into a garden of remembrance for the hundreds of thousands of victims of Bristol’s part in the transatlantic slave trade.
However, with the Old Seamen’s Church potentially being sold to a developer within weeks, if one comes forward with £550,000, it could be another opportunity missed for Bristol to have a permanent museum.
Read next:
Campaign to turn new restaurant site into slavery museum instead
Mayor cautious over idea of Bristol slavery museum or memorial
Abolition Shed museum won't happen as sale for pizza bar agreed
Boat bought for £1.4m so it can be moved is finally going to move
Does Bristol need a slavery memorial or museum and what would it look like?
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