Bristol Royal Infirmary Chapel

I'm very sorry but I'm going to have a rant! You may wish to stop reading now.

During the Second World War, Bristol was heavily bombed and much of the city's medieval buildings were lost. I've heard it said by many Bristolians that what the Luftwaffe started Bristol City Council finished, with the continuing destruction of Bristol's heritage in the 50s and 60s.

The extra photo is of the porch to our block of flats, which we had to rebuild a couple of years ago as it was falling down. It was badly constructed in the 1970s and we wished to remove it and restore the building to its original state (no other properties have porches). Planning was denied and at great expense we had to provide plans etc. It was mildly frustrating but it was rebuilt and I have to say I'm happy with the results.

The image above is of the chapel at the BRI. This building is unique and an early example of the  'Bristol Byzantine' style. Inside the building are numerous memorials to soldiers who died in the First World War and a unique stained glass window to nurses who died in service. Guess what?  It's probably going to be knocked down, with the rest of the site, to make way for student accommodation. And at present nobody in the council is willing to stand up and say NO. Two weeks ago a Jacobean ceiling was ripped down in Bristol the day before English Heritage were to visit and sadly no one in the council made an effort to stop it.

This is what I don't understand. How can we have a system that is willing to take on individuals to protect a 1970s porch but not willing to protect Bristol's heritage from developers? It's a disgrace and I'm fuming, not about the porch, but about how our history is being left unprotected.

26/9/2017 Good news the Chapel was given listed building status today. Well done to all those (inc the council) who worked so hard to save it :-)