Premier Inn, Bearpit, Bristol
Modernist Bristol
Bristol’s modernist and brutalist buildings are rarely celebrated. Some are listed, many are threatened, a few are already gone. This book is a record and an appreciation of the buildings and the era that made them possible.
The Premier Inn (formerly known as Avon House) towered over the Bearpit (formally known as St James Barton roundabout) for over half a century. 18 storeys of grey brick and glass which dominated the view as you drove along the inner ring road towards the centre. English Heritage felt it “damaged the skyline."
Avon House was built speculatively on yet another derelict space left by the Bristol Blitz. It opened in 1974 and was occupied by the newly created Avon County Council. After the council was abolished in 1996 it housed a few stray council workers until it was repurposed as a hotel in 1999. In 2023 the owners announced the hotel’s closure and plans were approved to demolish it to be replaced by two towers. One of which will be, at 28-storeys, the tallest building in Bristol.
Demolition began in October 2024 and, as of June 2025, it has disappeared into dust.
Not every brutal building deserves to be saved and this is one of them. Ray Newman in Brutal Bristol II sums it up well: “Seeing the building now, half demolished and wrapped in protective scaffolding, I struggle to mourn for it. It came, it loomed, and I can’t imagine it will be missed - even if the student block sset to replace it aren’t terribly exciting either.”
