Futures Past - St Luke’s Gazette - Edition 1
- GVHeritage Groups
- Nov 30, 2024
- 3 min read
by the St Luke's Heritage Group for Futures Past
✨ Discover Where It All Began: Step Into Edition 1 of the St Luke’s Gazette…
Welcome to the very first edition of the St Luke’s Gazette — the launch point of an exciting community quest to uncover the rich, surprising and sometimes dramatic history of St Luke’s Road and Crescent. This opening issue is bursting with stories of the residents, traders, artisans and adventurers who helped shape Totterdown long before the steep streets became iconic.
We begin with the origins of St Luke’s itself: a bold new hilltop suburb built in 1868 to house the influx of workers drawn to nearby Temple Meads. Once described as “salubrious”, this was a neighbourhood buzzing with life — over 50 shops and 11 pubs (all shown across page 1), long before Wells Road became the high street we know today. But this optimism sits alongside the later devastation of the 1960s and 70s road-planning schemes, when whole terraces of St Luke’s and Oxford Street were flattened for a ring road that never came. This edition balances that sadness with a forward-looking spirit: a reminder that, despite past upheaval, there is so much in St Luke’s worth rediscovering, celebrating and sharing.
From there, the Gazette turns a spotlight onto the residents themselves. You’ll meet George Lane, one of countless tailors, milliners and dressmakers who made up St Luke’s bustling “rag trade” — a world captured in the small shopfront photos on page 1. Then, on page 2, comes the gripping story of Edwin Bennett, a stone mason from 9 St Luke’s Road, who found himself offered bribes, gold and work contracts at the polling station during Bristol’s notoriously corrupt 1868 election. With beer flowing “like water” and votes openly bought, Bennett’s refusal to be swayed shines as an early act of civic integrity in the neighbourhood.
Alongside him stands Tommy Walsh of Ballinhassig, whose life feels like a novel: born amid tragedy in rural Ireland, surviving famine, joining the army, fighting at Rorke’s Drift, and ultimately settling at 72 St Luke’s Road with his wife Mary and their four children. His story brings global history right to the doorstep of the Crescent — a reminder that the neighbourhood has always been shaped by people from far beyond Bristol.
On page 3, we’re welcomed into the world of Ernest Lintern, the one-legged bike-maker of no. 166, remembered fondly for his chatter, craftsmanship and wartime courage. His shop survived an incendiary bomb only thanks to neighbours wielding stirrup pumps — a moment that reveals the deep community spirit woven through St Luke’s history.
Then, the edition expands its lens to Victoria Park, purchased in 1888 and lavishly developed with bandstands, fountains, tennis courts, a bowling green and even a lido. The photos across page 3 show crowds of local children perched by the water — a charming reminder that, for families with ten or more kids and only one tin bath at home, the lido must have been irresistible.
Finally, the edition closes with a celebration of collaboration: photos of past residents, schoolchildren from Windmill Hill School in 1917, and contemporary neighbours gathering at the Star & Dove to sift through maps, memories and mysteries (page 4). It’s a warm call for everyone — whether long-time locals or newcomers — to join in shaping this ever-growing “street museum”.
Edition 1 offers a rich blend of human stories, social history and community pride — the perfect curtain-raiser for the Futures Past Heritage Project and a wonderful invitation to get involved.
