Royal West of England Academy
ROYAL WEST OF ENGLAND ACADEMY, QUEEN'S ROAD
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1282156
- Date first listed:
- 04-Mar-1977
- List Entry Name:
- Royal West of England Academy
- Statutory Address:
- ROYAL WEST OF ENGLAND ACADEMY, QUEEN'S ROAD
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Images of England Project
- Date:
- 2004-08-30
- Reference:
- IOE01/11794/33
- Rights:
- © Mr David J Lewis. Source: Historic England Archive
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II*
- List Entry Number:
- 1282156
- Date first listed:
- 04-Mar-1977
- List Entry Name:
- Royal West of England Academy
- Statutory Address 1:
- ROYAL WEST OF ENGLAND ACADEMY, QUEEN'S ROAD
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- ROYAL WEST OF ENGLAND ACADEMY, QUEEN'S ROAD
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- City of Bristol (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- ST 57834 73418
Details
BRISTOL
ST5773SE QUEEN'S ROAD, Clifton 901-1/9/957 (East side) 04/03/77 Royal West of England Academy
GV II*
Art gallery. 1857. Interiors by C Underwood. Facade by JR Hirst. Altered 1912 by SS Reay and H Dare Bryan. Limestone ashlar with lateral stacks, roof not visble. Double-depth plan. Italianate style. 2 storeys and attic; 6-window range. 3 stepped tiers, the C19 ground-floor set forward. Banded rustication to the ground floor to a cornice, parapet with balustraded sections over the windows; the entrances at the ends and centre set forward, the outer ones have architraves, lintels inscribed STUDIOS to the left, and SCHOOL OF ART to the right, triglyphs to frieze above, and 2-leaf 8-panel doors, the middle one in a porch with fluted Doric columns to a frieze and cornice, with heraldic carving of a cartouche held by beasts above. 3 semicircular-arched windows between with glazing bars. The first floor is in 3 sections, the outer ones articulated by paired Corinthian pilasters flanking large shell head niches with statues of Flaxman and Reynolds, with impost bands and subsidiary pilasters to the middle, and balustrades above with draped urn finials; between are 5 keyed semicircular-arched windows articulated by attached Corinthian columns, to a frieze and modillion cornice. The blind attic is in 5 sections articulated by pilasters to a frieze and cornice, balustrade to the outer sections with 3 inscribed panels between, and 5 lunette niches with allegorical carvings. A large carving of 3 female figures crowns the parapet; large stacks each side with corbelled cornices. INTERIOR: fine interior with much coloured marble: entrance lobby with fluted pilasters, an imperial stair with black turned balusters and rail, and large newel plinths with cast-iron lamps with bowls; pedimented statue niche on the half-landing; similar first-floor lobby has a coffered, domed ceiling, and spandrels painted by Walter Crane; exhibition rooms have Greek carved friezes below cornices with acroteria; doorcases have panelled reveals, dentil cornices and 6-panel doors. NOTE: the original external stair was enclosed by Reay, working to drawings by Bryan, who also glazed the piano nobile and vaulted the first-floor lobby. Part of an outstanding group of civic buildings, and a fine example of its type. (Gomme A, Jenner M and Little B: Bristol, An Architectural History: Bristol: 1979-: 349; Crick C: Victorian Buildings in Bristol: Bristol: 1975-: 33; Winstone R: Bristol As It Was: Bristol).
Listing NGR: ST5783473418
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 380286
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Sources
Books and journals
Gomme, A H, Jenner, M, Little, B D G, Bristol, An Architectural History, (1979), 349
Crick, C, Victorian Buildings in Bristol, (1975), 33
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 24-Jun-2026 at 07:38:16.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.