Walk in Bristol
with Richie
King Street
5 Nearest Attraction
(246 foot - 1 min walking)
2. Queen Square
(0,2 mile - 3 min walking)
(0,2 mile - 5 min walking)
4. Harbourside
(0,3 mile - 5 min walking)
5. Arnolfini
(0,3 mile - 6 min walking)
Click to the postcode to check the map .
Nearest Public Toilet
Arnolfini Cafe Bar
(Community Toilet Scheme)
16 Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
King Street is a 17th-century street in the historic city centre of Bristol, England.
The street lies just south of the old town wall and was laid out in 1650 to develop the Town Marsh, the area then lying between the south or Marsh Wall and the Avon. The north side was developed first and the south side in 1663, when the street was named after Charles II.
The section of the city wall is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Richie's opinion :
"If you like to walk on streets with historical buildings, or you like the live jazz, blues music (The Old Duke), or you like the good, tasty and homemade ciders ( The Apple Cider Boat ) , or you are looking for an outdoor place where people drink, sometimes sing, dance, (The Old Duke) then King Street is your place. I love it, it is a must-see Street."
About the King Street
King Street is a 17th-century street in the historic city centre of Bristol.
The street lies just south of the old town wall and was laid out in 1650 to develop the Town Marsh, the area then lying between the south or Marsh Wall and the Avon.
The north side was developed first and the south side in 1663, when the street was named after Charles II.
The section of the city wall is a Scheduled Ancient Monument.
Among the historic buildings in the street are:
The Llandoger Trow, originally merchants' houses, now a historic public house (1664)
A trow was a flat-bottomed barge, and Llandogo is a village 20 miles (32 km) north-west of Bristol, across the Severn Estuary and upstream on the River Wye in South Wales, where trows were once built.
Trows historically sailed to trade in Bristol from Llandogo.
The pub was named by Captain Hawkins, a sailor who lived in Llandogo and ran the pub.
The pub is said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write of the Admiral Benbow Inn in Treasure Island and Daniel Defoe supposedly met Alexander Selkirk there, his inspiration for Robinson Crusoe.
The pub is also supposedly haunted, with up to 15 ghosts, the best known being a small child whose footsteps can be heard on the top floor.
On 20 April 2019 the pub was closed, and its future is currently unknown.
The Old Duke, a public house (1780s)
The Old Duke is a jazz and blues venue and pub situated on King Street in the English city of Bristol.
Live music is played every night of the week, admission is free and it hosts an annual Jazz Festival.
The pub's name is a reference to the classic American jazz musician Duke Ellington, though the pub has actually held the same (or similar) name since it was built, and most likely previously referred to The Duke of Cumberland.
The pub dates from about 1775, an entry appearing in Sketchley's Bristol Directory of that year, for Lewis Jenkins, victualler, Lodging & Board, 'Duke of Cumberland', 44 King Street, and is a grade II listed building.
St Nicholas' Almshouses (1652)
It was built in 1652 to 1656, extended in the 19th century and restored 1961 by Donald Insall.
The almshouse was one of the first buildings in King Street, a new development then outside the city wall and beside the "Back Street Gate".
The building was damaged during the Bristol Blitz and now presents only a facade to the street. It is now student accommodation.
Theatre Royal (1766) and Coopers' Hall (1743), both now part of the Bristol Old Vic.
Number 6 an example of an early Georgian frontage.
It dates from c. 1665, but the present early Georgian frontage dates from about 1720.
It is thought that the original roof had gables, like those seen on the neighbouring 7 and 8, which were cut back to form the hips seen today.
The interior retains many eighteenth century features.
It has been designated by a grade II* listed building.
Numbers 7–8 date from 1665.
During restoration in 1976 it was found that recycled ships timbers had been used for much of the oak studding and bracing in the buildings, and barrel staves had been used as lathes.
The oriel window of number 7 is an original feature, whilst the windows of number 8 were replaced during the eighteenth century.
7 and 8 King Street have been designated a grade II* listed building.
Numbers 14–15 were built around 1860 as a warehouse and are now occupied by a restaurant and offices.
The contemporary number 32 is of similar design. It has been designated a grade II listed building.
Number 16 is a historic house, which now serves as an office.
It dates from around 1665 and was designated a Grade II* listed building by English Heritage on 8 January 1959.
The house is a timber-framed four storey building with a basement, and features an 18th-century timber parapet in front of the gable on the roof. The ground floor front dates to the 19th century.
The inner staircase, to the right of the centre features "turned balusters and square newels with ball finials and roll-topped rail, door frames with ovolo mouldings and cyma stops".
Number 17 dates from 1665 and has been designated a grade II* listed building.Together with number 18 it is operated as The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer pub.
Numbers 19 and 20 are now partly occupied by the King William Ale House.
The King William Ale House stands as part of a group of three houses, which were built in approximately 1670; originally built as a refuge for poor women, the buildings were later converted into public houses.
The King William Ale House is owned and operated by Samuel Smith Brewery. It has two entrances, one on King Street, the other on Little King Street. Inside there is a stone fireplace and a number of seating booths. The pub also has sufficient space for pool tables. The draught ales are kept in kegs rather than casks.
Number 32 is a former warehouse building.
It was built around 1860, and is now occupied by a restaurant.
The contemporary 14 and 15 King Street are of similar design. It has been designated a grade II listed building.
Numbers 33–34 (1653)
The only surviving buildings of the original development, including parts of the old town wall.
Number 35 was built around 1870 and is an example of the Bristol Byzantine style. A former cork warehouse, it is now an office/studio space. It has been designated a grade II listed building.
Old Library (1738–40) probably by James Paty the Elder, now a Chinese restaurant
Merchant Venturers Almshouses (1696–9)
It was built around 1696 by the Society of Merchant Venturers for convalescent and old sailors to see out their days, often after fever or blindness during service in the ships of the Bristol slave trade.It is now private accommodation, apartments 1 to 10.