Greater Bristol

Montpelier is an inner suburban neighbourhood and conservation area in Bristol, England. It is located 1 mile (1.6 km) north of The Centre in the Ashley electoral ward and Bristol Central parliamentary constituency. The area is served by Montpelier railway station on the Severn Beach Line railway. Montpelier occupies a hillside which rises from south to north, overlooking the city centre, with narrow streets that follow the contours. It is densely built with primarily Georgian and Victorian terraced housing, with some modern infill apartment buildings and larger villas. Montpelier has a reputation as a diverse and bohemian neighbourhood. Lower Montpelier scores comparatively high on indicators of deprivation, in the 2nd decile of English areas, while Upper Montpelier is in the 4th decile. Its main commercial area, Picton Street, is known for organic and vegetarian cuisine.

St Pauls (also written St Paul's) is an inner suburb of Bristol, England, situated just northeast of the city centre and west of the M32. It is bounded by the A38 (Stokes Croft), the B4051 (Ashley Road), the A4032 (Newfoundland Way) and the A4044 (Newfoundland Street), although the River Frome was traditionally the eastern boundary before A4032 was constructed. St Pauls was laid out in the early 18th century as one of Bristol's first suburbs.

St. Paul's Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival held, usually on the first Saturday of July, in St. Paul's, Bristol, England. The celebration began in 1968 as the St. Paul's Festival, in order to improve relationships between the European, African, Caribbean and Asian inhabitants of the area. Called the St. Paul's Carnival since 1991, the event includes a masquerade procession with ornate and colourful costumes and floats from local schools and cultural associations, a stage for professional performers, sound systems in neighbouring streets and a range of stalls selling food from a wide range of cultures. In the preceding period, Mas camps create costumes for the parade and there is a week of cultural events in the days before carnival.

The Black and White Café was a café in St Pauls, Bristol, in the United Kingdom, that opened in 1971, owned by the Wilks family. The Caribbean food café had a reputation as a drug den and was raided more times by the police than any other premises in the country. Events during a 1980 police raid on the cafe were a catalyst for the St Pauls riot. The café remained a centre for drug dealing and violent turf wars through the 1990s, with a peak in the early 2000s, and raids also revealed weapons and illegal immigrants. The Observer dubbed the café "Britain's most dangerous hard drug den".The café closed in 2004 under legal action as a result of new anti-social behaviour legislation and was later demolished.

The St Pauls riot occurred in St Pauls, Bristol, England on 2 April 1980 when police raided the Black and White Café on Grosvenor Road in the heart of the area. After several hours of disturbance in which fire engines and police cars were damaged, 130 people were arrested, 25 were taken to hospital, including 19 police and members of the press. The riot occurred against a background of increasing racial tension, poor housing and alienation of black youth. As a result of the disturbances local authorities and the national government began to pay attention to these issues. The Black and White Café was closed in 2004 and eventually demolished.

Fairfield Grammar School was a secondary school in Bristol, England, founded in 1898 as Fairfield Secondary and Higher Grade School. It became a grammar school in 1945 and closed in 2000, to be replaced by a new comprehensive, Fairfield High School, at first on the same site, but now located in Stottbury Road, Bristol. BHES (Bristol Hospital Education Service), is now based in half of the old school, the other half is now Fairlawn Primary School.

The Forlorn Hope Estate is an area of Bristol in St Paul's. The 13-acre estate was originally a farm owned by St Nicholas Church vestry from 1693. At that time it consisted of a main dwelling house, stables, associated buildings and gardens of c. 2.5 acres, plus fields of c. 10.5 acres. By 1828 the estate had been divided into a number of smaller properties and gardens. During the 1870s the estate was then thoroughly redeveloped, with a new road layout, as part of the urban development of Bristol. The 'Forlorn Hope Estate' was a separate charity until 2004, the assets now being part of St Nicholas with St Leonard Educational Charity. As such, it still exists as a legal entity, with the proceeds of the estate being employed for religious education in schools and youth organisations within the Bristol.

Montpelier railway station is on the Severn Beach Line and serves the district of Montpelier in Bristol, England. It is 2.85 miles (4.59 km) from Bristol Temple Meads. Its three letter station code is MTP. The station has a single platform, serving trains in both directions. As of 2015 it is managed by Great Western Railway, which is the third franchise to be responsible for the station since privatisation in 1997. They provide all train services at the station, mainly a train every 30 minutes in each direction. The station was opened on 1 October 1874 as Montpellier (two 'L's) by the Great Western and Midland Railways as part of the Clifton Extension Railway, designed to connect the port of Avonmouth to the national rail network. In February 1888 the station's name changed to Montpelier (one 'L'). The station had two platforms, with the main structures on the southern platform and smaller waiting rooms on the northern platform. In 1903 the station employed 19 staff. Much of the main station building was destroyed by bombing during the Second World War. The Severn Beach Line declined over the latter half of the twentieth century, with passenger numbers falling significantly. Goods services at Montpelier ended in 1965, and all staff were withdrawn in 1967. The line was largely reduced to single track in 1970, with the northern platform abandoned and all trains using the remaining platform. The station building is no longer in railway use. Services had decreased to ten per day each direction by 2005, but have since increased to a train every 30 minutes in each direction.

St Paul's Church gives its name to the surrounding St Paul's area of Bristol. It was built in the 1790s but fell into disuse and disrepair by its closure in 1988. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.Major renovation work was undertaken to repair and convert the building for use as a performance space and circus skills school Circomedia.

Circomedia is a school for contemporary circus and physical theatre based in Bristol, England. The school offers a variety of training courses and workshops that teach circus skills in the context of physical theatre, performance and creativity. It was founded in 1993 by Bim Mason and Helen Crocker, following the closure of Fooltime, Britain’s first circus school. It is financially supported by Arts Council South West and a range of other funding. Since 2004, Circomedia has been based in St. Paul's Church at Portland Square, Bristol and a site in Kingswood, Bristol which is home to the degree programme and the main office.

Portland Square (grid reference ST594737) is a Grade I listed square in the St Paul's area of Bristol.It was laid out in the early 18th century as one of Bristol's first suburbs. Built upon a flat area of ground its central focus of St. Paul's Church. Shortly after construction started a number of the builders involved in the project became bankrupt, leaving much of the Square unfinished. A variety of Georgian architecture designed by Daniel Hague was designed for wealthy occupants, although some has since fallen into disrepair or been converted from residential occupation to offices. It is laid out around a central gardens. The gates and railings of which are a grade II listed building.

The Carriage Works (grid reference ST591740) are in Stokes Croft, Bristol, England.