HISTORY
THE HISTORY OF BERKELEY SQUARE & No.20
It appears that Berkeley Square may be built on land originally owned by the Abbey of Saint Augustine, founded in 1140 and subsequently built in its original form by Robert Fitzharding. He possessed immense estates in land, partly inherited from his father, and subsequently succeeded to the title of Lord Berkeley through further grants of land.
An ancestor of the Berkeley family is said to have accompanied William the Conqueror into England and, after fighting at the Battle of Hastings, moved westwards and eventually settled in or near Bristol. He is also believed to have carried the Royal Blood of Denmark.
Fitzharding bequeathed Brandon Hill to the Corporation of Bristol in 1174, with the exception of four acres at the summit of which he made a gift to the Abbey of Tewkesbury, where a small chapel dedicated to Saint Brandon was built. This land later passed into the hands of the Corporation around 1625, although it is unlikely that this would have included the Berkeley Square plot.
The first reference to this particular area appears in 1712, regarding the transfer of land known as Canters or Cantells Close (a meadow of seven acres) from Thomas Cole, deceased, to the Hodges Family. The land passed down through inheritance or gift on marriage until around 1785. On 1 December that year Mr Richard Walker, formerly a linen draper in Mary-le-Port, died and his daughter inherited a field on which part of Berkeley Square now stands. She married a clergyman, Strangeways, and settled on ground behind what is now Berkeley Crescent. An agreement was reached with her trustees to allow part of her property to be developed, together with other parcels of land—some of which may have been owned by the Tyndall family—forming the Berkeley Square site.
Much of the surrounding land, stretching from College Green up to the Triangle and to the edge of Brandon Hill, was often referred to as “Bullocks Park Estate.” It was over this land that work commenced in 1760 on what was to become Park Street, heralding the expansion of housing away from Bristol’s medieval centre.
By 1785, there were mounting demands from the wealthier citizens who wished to live on higher ground. Plans were drawn up for new housing on several sites, including Berkeley Square. Stables and coach houses along Queens Road and Park Street were already giving way to shops and commercial premises. Berkeley Square was designed by one of Bristol’s most renowned architects, William Paty. The site stands on a gentle slope on the north-east side of Brandon Hill, and the original proposal was for a crescent—which would have been the first in Bristol. This was later revised to a square, leaving the south-east side open (although some sides form right angles), focused around a large Palladian House on the north-west side.
In 1787, a notice was issued inviting builders to tender for various parts of the proposed development, put together by a syndicate headed by T. G. Vaughan Esq. Before long, James Lockier (developer), Davis and Husband (builders), Thomas Rawlings (house carpenter), Robert Jones (builder) and others commenced work.
By the end of 1792, signs of instability appeared in what had become a vast web of property speculation, not least due to deteriorating relations with France. On 1 February 1793 war was declared, and most development came to a halt. James Lockier was declared bankrupt, and more than 300 houses in Bristol—many half-built—remained without protection until 1800.
By 1802, No. 20 Berkeley Square had been completed. Thomas Daniel of Henbury Parish and Stephen Cave became tenants. The firm Thomas Daniel & Co. remained in occupation for some 80 years while pursuing their business as sugar traders and slavers. The Daniel family had long been prominent in Bristol’s commercial society. Thomas Daniel, in particular, was an influential Merchant Venturer; such was his power that he was sometimes called the “King of Bristol.”
In 1785 he became a Common Councillor, in 1790 was admitted as a Freeman, and in 1796 served as Mayor of Bristol. The town of Danielstown in West Africa was named after him, in recognition of the volume of trade carried out under his firm’s direction. Following the Emancipation Act of 1833, the company received compensation of over £100,000 —and possibly as much as £250,000 —for its share in the slave trade, although business largely continued as before.
In 1877, Parliament considered the creation of four additional English bishoprics, and a movement arose in Bristol to restore the privileges withdrawn some 40 years earlier. Substantial funds were raised, including a donation from Thomas Daniel & Sons, and a Bill strongly supported by Mr Gladstone received Royal Assent on 14 August 1877.
In June 1869, the Reverend Henry Daniel presented the family’s mansion in Berkeley Square as a residence for the Bishop of Bristol, when the old diocese was revived in independent form. The formal election of the Dean and Chapter took place on 16 September 1894, and the Bishop was enthroned on 28 October.
In July 1896, the Ecclesiastical Commissioners approved a further outlay of £5,000 for structural alterations to No. 20 Berkeley Square, including the erection of a private chapel. The plan was met with dissatisfaction, and subscriptions for the work were slow. Bishop Browne, however, judged the mansion—regardless of expense—unsuitable as an Episcopal Palace and expressed his desire for a purpose-built residence in the suburbs.
As a result, The Club was able to purchase No. 20 Berkeley Square from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in May 1898 for £2,750.
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