Palace Hotel, Bristol

Infobox Historic building

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caption=
name=Palace Hotel
location_town=Bristol
location_country=England
architect=
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construction_start_date=
completion_date=c 1860
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map_type=Bristol
latitude=51.456581
longitude=-2.579910

This grade II listed building occupies a prominent position at the end of Old Market Street, Bristol. Its exterior ornamentation includes two Assyrian-style hermai.

The Palace Hotel was built in 1869 for the wine and spirits merchant, John Sharp – and you can still see his name and profession etched into the stone facade. At that time it was thought that a new Great Western Railway main station was going to be established nearby. For that reason it was to have been called the Railway Hotel – but Brunel's great Temple Meads Station was built half a mile south, so the Palace missed out. A smaller Midland Railway terminus, St Philip's Station, was opened nearby but this was closed in 1953 and subsequently demolished. In any case it was never on the scale which the owners of the Palace Hotel had hoped for. In the 1980's Thomas Brooman, managing director of WOMAD (World of Music and Dance), took charge of the Palace. He spent much time and money bringing the place up to the high standard for which it is worthy but, in the end, even he gave up on it. The Palace finally closed its doors in mid-2005 and was sold. The following year the new owner submitted a planning application to change its use to an estate agent's office. As at August 2008, further applications are pending - as are vigorous counter moves to restore it to a pub.

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