Maurice Fells looks at the story behind a Clifton landmark building under review by the city council
THE future use of the most prestigious address in Clifton, if not in the whole of Bristol, is now being considered by the city council. The historic Victorian house may even be sold.
Elmdale House, as it was originally known, is a three- storey, ‘gentleman’s residence’ with twenty-two rooms, standing in its own grounds on the corner of Canynge Road and The Promenade on the edge of Clifton Downs.
It has a a spacious drawing room, large dining room, a gallery on each floor and a billiards room.
Thomas Proctor, an alderman with Bristol Corporation (now Bristol City Council) commissioned local architects George and Henry Godwin to build the house on a plot of land he had bought in 1865. Two years and £2,500 later the house was ready for occupation.
It was was built of Bath Stone which had been quarried on the site At the time there were many quarries on Clifton Downs and the adjoining Durdham Downs. As there had been previous quarrying on the Elmdale site one corner of the house had to be supported by extra strong foundations.
Proctor instructed the architects to build the main entrance at the back of the house in Canynge Road, rather than facing Clifton Downs. He was well aware of the prevailing winds in that part of Bristol!
Elmdale House was the Proctor home for about seven years until 1874 when he announced that he would give it to Bristol Corporation on May 1 – his wedding anniversary.
Proctor, who had served as Bristol’s Sheriff, realised that poor health would prevent him from becoming Mayor and he no longer needed Elmdale House.
His colleagues at the Corporation were surprised by such generosity and further taken aback when they discovered that the house came complete with fixtures, fittings and furnishings along with a cheque for £500 for repairs and decorations.
Bristol Corporation decided that Elmdale House should be renamed The Mansion House and become the official residence for the Mayor and Lady Mayoress during their annual term of office. Since 1899 the title was upgraded by Queen Victoria to Lord Mayor.
About 100 civic functions a year were held at The Mansion House including an annual dinner to thank journalists for their coverage of civic affairs.
The Visitors Book bears the signatures of Queen Elizabeth II, who visited the Mansion House when she officially opened the Council House in 1956, as well as those of Prince Phillip, the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Kent.
The house became a temporary television studio when Bristol’s honky-tonk pianist Russ Conway broadcast live from there for a HTV programme.
No one stays at the Mansion House any longer and Bristol City Council has confirmed that “a review of the current and potential future use of the historic Victorian building is being carried out”. Various council services are being asked if they could make use of the building.
“No decision has yet been made but council services will be asked if they could make use of the property before recommendations are brought forward whether to keep or dispose of it on the market,” said a spokesperson.
Should the Mansion House ever be converted to residential accommodation the residents would have High Court judges as their neighbours. The legal big-wigs stay at the next-door house when they are sitting at Bristol Crown Court/.
The existing Mansion House is the third official mayoral residence. he first Mansion House was an early eighteenth century house in Queen Square. In 1831 which was destroyed in the Reform Riots of 1831 A temporary replacement Mansion House was found in Great George Street, half-way up Park Street.