Red Lodge

The Red Lodge, built in 1580, is one of those funny little tourist attractions that lots of people who live in Bristol have never even managed to visit — despite it offering free admission and being packed with history.
Located on Park Row, just a short walk from the busy shopping area along Park Street, it sits rather unceremoniously on a corner next to Trenchard car park. Yet inside the six or seven Tudor rooms are beautifully decorated in Elizabethan, Stuart and Georgian styles.
Originally built as a lodge for a posh ‘Great House’, which would have stood on the site of the present Colston Hall venue, Red Lodge was added to in Georgian times and has had several uses over its lifetime (including a reform school for girls, at one stage, set up in 1854 by Mary Carpenter; one of the rooms is dedicated to her).
The building’s focal point is the Great Oak Room, which as its name suggests has full oak panelling — plus an original Elizabethan plasterwork ceiling and views over the beautiful, walled Elizabethan Knot Garden outside.
Despite its compact size, this house is worth an hour or so of your time when you need a break from shopping on Park Street — and it won’t cost you a penny.

A lovely little Elizabethan house tucked away right in the centre of Bristol.
If you have a walk around here, you could literally be walking in the steps of Queen Elizabeth I, so tread carefully!
The house has loads of history embedded into its walls and a few secrets to tell, at one point it became a reform school for girls.
The garden is quite beautiful, worth visiting in itself. You will be able to peak into seven rooms, over two floors, revealing in the furniture and decoration! A hidden treasure for Bristol with free admission.

I was really surprised with the Red Lodge. From the name I half expected it to be a pub on Amsterdam’s ‘dodgy district’ but it’s really really not!
Located half way between the Christmas Steps and Park Road, it’s definitely walkable for most tourists and even locals alike. The house itself is really impressive and there are lots of little places to go and explore in. The best part is the Tudor garden, which in Springtime would be magnificent I’m sure.
As it’s free I would 100% recommend a visit.

The Red Lodge is a museum in the same style as the Georgian house on Brandon Hill. It has a variety of rooms in Elizabethan, Georgian and Stuart styles, giving a cross section of the many histories of the house. It was originally built in 1580 as a lodge for a grand manor house that stood on the site of Colston Hall, back when Bristol was clearly a very different city.
It’s got some really interesting rooms including a ‘Great Oak Room’, which is quite impressive. You really don’t expect a place like this to be in the centre of Bristol.
My favourite bit is the garden — its got a grand Tudor style knotted garden which is magnificent. In the garden there’s also a large building which houses a slightly secret art society called the Bristol Savages, who invest in local art. You can get in there on Open Doors Day, and it’s well worth a visit — the walls are full of art and strange paraphernalia. You can’t get in on a normal visit to the Red Lodge so make sure you look out for the right day. The lodge itself is free to get in all year round, so go take a look.

Beautiful example of an Elizabethan interior and well worth a visit especially as it is free. The guides aren’t all that enthusiastic but you are free to wander around at will and poke around for yourself. It takes under an hour to get around the whole thing. Really magnificent.

This Tudor Lodge is an interesting place to look around if you are at a loose end and entry is free. You are given a guidebook which tells you about the long history of the building it was once a Reform School for Girls. There are some 16^th Century Oak-​panelled rooms and there’s a pretty walled garden outside.

Built in the 1500’s for a wealthy merchant, this is a fine example of an Elizabethan interior.
The Red Lodge has a suite of almost untouched 16^th Century rooms with a superb carbed oak panelling, ornate plasterwork ceilings and a magnificent Bath stone chimney piece.

The Red Lodge was built in 1580, but has had many reincarnations since. I usually love heritage sites, but found this one to be strangely disappointing. Perhaps this was because of the modern art that was incongruously scattered around the place (I don’t think it’s usually there), or perhaps it was because of the Guide’s apparent complete and utter lack of interest in what they were talking about. It’s completely free though, so worth checking out if you’re in that sort of mood and have no money.
Look up this website for more information —