A decorative stone colonnade that once stood in front of a bath house at Arnos Court played a starring role at Festival No. 6 in Portmeirion.
The Bristol Colonnade was built in c. 1760 by the Quaker copper smelter William Reeve.
It was damaged by bombing in the Second World War fell into decay, before its 16 pillars were deconstructed and then rebuilt at Portmerion, a fantasy village on the Welsh coast near Porthmadog.
The No. 6 Festival saw the Bristol Colonnade transformed into the Central Piazza, hosting acts including John Cooper Clarke and in conversations with the likes of Guy Garvey and Caitlin Moran.
An inscription on the colonnade reads: “This colonnade, built circa 1760 by the Quaker copper smelter William Reeve, stood before his bathhouse at Arnos Court, Bristol. Damaged by bombs, it had fallen to decay and although scheduled as an Ancient Monument, Her Majesty’s Minister of Works approved its removal on condition that it should be rescheduled. Admired by its alert contemporary Horace Walpole for its grace as a Classical composition, enriched by Gothick detail, it was also held in regard by the Council for the Preservation of Ancient Bristol whose good offices and the generosity of its former owners, the Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company have made possible its presentation at Portmeirion.”
