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Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Walsingham Planning, on behalf of the Butcombe Brewing Company to undertake a Built Heritage Statement in support of a planning application at The Ostrich. The Ostrich is a Grade II listed pub located within the Redcliffe Conservation Area, Bristol. The building is significant for its architectural, historic, and archaeological interest, with contributions from its setting.
The public house backs into Redcliffe Hill – a large sandstone hill which was extensively quarried for sand to feed Bristol’s glass businesses, provide ballast, and sand for pub floors. A cave to the rear of the pub at the ground floor is cut into the hill and serves as a cellar.
Our approach:
We were commissioned to undertake a Built Heritage Statement at The Ostrich in support of a planning application for internal alterations to the first and second floors of the property and the construction of a new rear fire escape staircase.
Ongoing consultation and negotiation with the local planning authority (LPA) and architect was vital for the success of the proposed scheme. Wessex Archaeology advised the architect on modifications to their designs, carried out additional investigations (minor intrusive/opening-up of the stud walls to determine their date) and arranged a final on-site meeting with the architect, planning consultant and LPA officers.
New findings regarding the status of the building:
While conducting detailed research as part of our assessment it became apparent that the list entry for the building is erroneous. The building is listed as being mid-18th century in date however, as a result of a fire in 1845, the building was substantially damaged and subsequently rebuilt.
Planning permission granted:
It was felt that the proposed alterations would have no impact upon the identified architectural and historic interest of The Ostrich and therefore full planning permission was granted 13th January 2020. Wessex Archaeology successfully negotiated and evolved the scheme, in consultation with the client, Concorde BGW architects and the LPA, which minimises the harm of the proposed scheme to the significance of the public house.
There was an initial resistance to the proposal by the LPA, but Wessex Archaeology managed to successfully argue the case for the planning application which was approved with only minor modifications to the original scheme.
The final scheme:
The final scheme will see the underutilised and largely redundant upper floors of the building brought into use, allowing greater appreciation of the pub building as a whole, securing the building’s optimum viable use and ensuring it remains a successful and viable business in the long term; an important consideration in light of the well-documented trend of pub closure in Bristol and Britain as a whole.
The final scheme will include retention of nib walls and downstands to illustrate the building’s prior layout, as well as retaining an historic architrave at first-floor level as a feature.
