Bread Street

Bread Street situated in St Phillips near the north bank of the river close by St Phillip & Jacob Church.

The adjacent Cheese Lane now being Avon Street.

Life on Bread Street in the 1720s—within the crowded, industrial parish of St Philip & Jacob, Bristol—was defined by dense artisan housing, small timber‑framed dwellings packed with families and lodgers, and a daily environment shaped by pipe‑making, tanning, weaving, metalwork, and port labour. The street sat in a smoky, noisy, and often unhealthy zone east of the city walls, with shared wells and privies, constant workshop activity, and the smells of kilns and tanneries drifting through narrow lanes. Residents were skilled but economically fragile working‑class households, many with Dissenting religious leanings, living in close‑knit networks of kin and trade. For families like the Ballards, this was the natural setting: a bustling artisan quarter where home, workshop, and community life blended into one continuous, industrious rhythm. 

The area that became Old Bread Street was originally undeveloped pastureland until the mid-18th century, when a brickyard was established. By 1773, the brickyard had disappeared, and the land reverted to pasture and horticultural gardens. Between approximately 1828 and 1870, the site saw the construction of residential buildings, gardens, and a green, reflecting the gradual urbanization of St Philip. 

From around 1870 to 1954, the southern half of the area was occupied by the Soap Works, marking a period of industrial activity. Archaeological excavations at Glassfields, near Old Bread Street, revealed evidence of industrial occupation from the late 17th century onward, including well-preserved kilns used for producing clay tobacco pipes in the 19th century. These findings highlight the street’s role in Bristol’s industrial heritage. 

18C (1700s) Evidence of a Dock, Georgian housing, for workers, evidence of clay extraction, possibly for brick production in local brick works. iron foundry, glassworks, may be religious or quaker enterprises. built on land just outside the city.

Archaeological Desktop Study and Building Survey of the Former Bristol Hardware Building, St. Philips, Old Bread Street, Bristol 

Glassfields Old Bread Street Bristol Archaeological Excavation 

The Archaeology of Bristol 

Old Bread Street

The Marsh Story

Know Your Place