From the Bristol Evening Post: http://tinyurl.com/7czbc
THROUGH THE KEYHOLE
11:00 - 13 July 2005
Many of Bristol's most interesting buildings will throw open their doors to the public in September The 12th annual Bristol Doors Open Day will be held on Saturday, September 10.
Some old favourites such as John Wesley's Chapel in Broadmead, the oldest Methodist chapel in the world, are on the Open Doors trail.
There are some up-to-the-minute additions like restaurant and micro brewery Zero Degrees in Colston Street, which was once the old Bristol Tramway Terminus.
Access to the 61 venues taking part this year is free.
They date from the third century to the 21st and range from a Georgian mansion to a humble dock worker's cottage.
Clifton Rocks Railway and Badminton School are taking part for the first time this year.
Six buildings in the oldest part of the city will be open to the public on September 10. They include The Exchange in Corn Street, designed in the 1740s as a trading and meeting place for merchants and ship owners, and Bristol's purpose-built Crown Court in Small Street.
In Broadmead, St John's on the Wall is a disused 15th-century church with an older crypt below which forms part of the medieval city wall.
Absolute silence is asked of visitors to St James Priory, part of the Benedictine Priory of St James founded in 1129, which now cares for homeless people.
Nearby, St Paul's Church, recently restored by the Churches Conservation Trust and now home to a circus training centre will welcome visitors as will an imposing 18th century house called the Pierian Centre. Both are in Portland Square, one of Bristol's least known Georgian squares.
The Old Baptist College at 43 Woodland Road was home to Bristol Baptist College until 1998 and is now part of Bristol University. It has an Arts and Crafts style interior and there are tours at 10am and 11am.
There is a chance to see backstage at the Colston Hall, view its impressive cellars and see an exhibition of plans for a revamp.
The Council House on College Green, the seat of local government since 1956, is well worth a visit and it is handily next door to Bristol Cathedral.
The Red Lodge in Park Row is the last surviving 16th-century domestic interior in Bristol. It has oak panelling, ornate plasterwork, an elaborate stone fireplace and Tudor furniture.
Number one Dock Cottages in Cumberland Basin, a simple 1830s cottage, is now the HQ of the Merchant Navy Association and has an exhibition of photographs and dock memorabilia.
A steam train from the Industrial Museum and a special bus on route 500 will take visitors to the Create Centre in Smeaton Road. The centre is the HQ of Bristol City Council's drive to make us all greener and has an exhibition and an energy-saving Eco House.
In Brislington there is a chance to tour Arnos Vale Cemetery. The Evening Post supported a successful campaign to save the cemetery and an ambitious restoration plan is under way.
On Sunday, September 11, the imposing late 18th-century Kings Weston House will be open from 10am to 4pm. Now restored to its former glory, it is hired out for conferences and weddings.
Brochures giving details of the participating venues, and of the Open Doors Day itself, will be available at local libraries, the Bristol Tourist Office at Harbourside, Colston House next to the Colston Hall, the Architecture Centre on Narrow Quay and at many of the buildings taking part.