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Search forSoapbox:Castle Park plan wouldn't mean the loss of any green space
Tuesday, August 05, 2008, 08:00
The archaeology in the park event held at Castle Park on July 19 was part of a series of events that were organised by the archaeological officers from North Somerset, Bath & North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Bristol City Council as part of the Council For British Archaeology's National Archaeology Week.
The events at Memorial Park, Keynsham, Grove Park, Weston-super-Mare, Warmley Gardens and Castle Park were intended to raise the profile of the history and archaeology of our parks, much of which is hidden beneath our feet.
All the events were well attended and featured informative guided walks, associated information and activities about the history of the area.
The Bristol Castle finds and activity day held at Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery was organised by museum staff as part of National Archaeology Week. The finds on display were carefully chosen to be both interesting and representative of the site. They also had to be stable enough for display.
The 2006 archaeological work referred to was an evaluation undertaken to assess the site rather than explore it thoroughly as earlier excavations have done. The 2006 evaluation produced relatively few finds, especially when compared to the large scale excavations carried out in the 1970s, and so they weren't used in this display.
The guided walks at Castle Park featured actors who took on the role of historic characters who lived during some of the significant periods of the castle area's past. We had: a castle watchman from 1283; Thomas Harding, a builder from the post Civil War redevelopment of the castle and Betsy from Joseph Philips the Drapers at number 42 Castle Street in 1904. The walks were well attended and encouraged participation and contributions from anyone following the actors.
One aim of the day was to gather oral testimonies about the Castle Street area from before, during and after the war and, as a result, we've been able to record several memories that will form part of a subsequent history trail for the park.
The views of the archaeologist about the proposed enhancement works to the park were entirely in keeping with aspirations of the Parks Service and the new Parks and Green Space Strategy and are not the proposals of archaeological officers.
These ideas are still at the development stage and nothing has been agreed.
However, the intention would not be to lay out the entire line of the former Castle Street, merely an area through the current arena space roughly equivalent to that marked out for the event. This would amount to the realignment of an existing path to make it relate more to the historic street pattern as opposed to the arbitrary route it follows at present – and would not cause the loss of any green space.
The response from the majority of those who attended these walks about this proposed new route was generally positive.
Many people explained that although they have memories of the former street they had difficulty placing it in the existing park layout and would welcome any new paths that followed the historic street alignments.
This and many other objectives being expressed by the Parks Service are welcomed by the Bristol City Council Archaeology Officers because it's seen as a way of making the historic environment of the park more legible.
As explained on the walks, at present the only path that bears any similarity to the former historic features is the path that approximately follows the line of the western moat.
There will be full public consultation on any proposals for park improvements, and any investment from planning agreements would go towards achieving these improvements.
Assistance from the Record Office about improved interpretation panels would be welcomed. However, any enhancements to them would take place as part of a comprehensive park improvement strategy following public consultation.
Any new landscaping works would only be undertaken through close liaison with the city council Archaeological Officers and would likely involve further archaeological assessment before any proposals were agreed.
Castle Park is an important city centre green space and an equally important historic landscape.
This latter status has been somewhat neglected in the recent past, but with investment the history of Bristol Castle and Castle Street can once again be part of this public open space, making it as much a visitor destination for the park's heritage as it is a lunchtime destination for shoppers, residents and workers.
Further information about previous archaeological work in Castle Park or elsewhere in the city can be obtained by contacting the Historic Environment Record by email (archaeology@bristol.gov.uk) or telephoning 0117 922 3033.
Peter Insole, archaeological officer, Bristol City Council.
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