History and timeline
The Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus (TQEC) is scheduled to fully open in 2026, but the area has a long and interesting history.
Unveiling the history of the site
In 2018, a group of undergraduate history students and Professor Dan Cole set out to discover the history of the site of the new campus. The land around Bristol's enterprise quarter has been farmed, worshipped on, industrialised, deindustrialised, developed and levelled time and again for over 1000 years. It's no surprise that there is a wealth of history to delve into.
You can read more about the site's former days as the home of world-renowned floorcloth manufacturers John Hare and Co., or its years as a Cattle Market, on the blog.
Restoring an industrial facility for the 21st century
The Sheds on Avon Street began life as industrial buildings. Once home to the former Bristol Gas Company - the organisation that brought light to the streets of Bristol - and a coal shed, the buildings are now home to world-first research facilities that will bring new kinds of innovation to the city.
Find out more about the history of Bristol Digital Futures Institute's facilities.
Replacing an eyesore
In 2019, the phased demolition of the disused Royal Mail Sorting Office on Cattle Market Road began, making way for our new main building. Widely regarded as one of the city's biggest eyesores, the Sorting Office was derelict from 1997 to 2019. For visitors to Bristol by train, the crumbling building was often their first impression of the city.
Vanessa Kisuule, former TQEC Artist in Residence and Bristol City Poet, captured the new chapter for the site in the poem 'Brick Me':
Returning to the Settlement
The Barton Hill Micro-campus was set up by the Temple Quarter team and is now led by the Civic Engagement Team. At the Wellspring Settlement situated on Ducie Road, the facility’s opening in 2020 was in fact a return to its original purpose. In 1911, Bristol University Settlement was founded in three houses on Ducie Road for staff and students of the University of Bristol to live and work alongside the residents of Barton Hill.
The story of TQEC so far
A timeline of the development of the new campus.
2024
Groundworks complete and the frame of the main building’s superstructure will be finished.
The TQ Research Hub - home to world-first research facilities - will be fully operational on Avon Street.
2023
Bristol Dental School opens at new purpose-built facilities on Avon Street.
Start of construction of the main academic building begins.
Barton Hill Micro-campus receives ongoing funding and continues to be operational under the direction of the Civic Engagement team.
2022
Phase 1 of the TQ Research Hub opens, creating a new home for BDFI.
The main building enters RIBA 4 technical design with Sir Robert McAlpine and works start on site.
2021
The University invests in the refurbishment of the Vauxhall Drive site on Avon Street, with co-funding from Research England, to create a state-of-the-art TQ Research Hub for BDFI and MyWorld.
The Temple Quarter team opened Barton Hill micro-campus - a community engagement facility located at Wellspring Settlement.
2020
Academic buildings Reserved Matters planning application and RIBA 3 design were approved.
2019
Phased demolition of the derelict Royal Mail Sorting Office on the Cattle Market Road site.
2016
The University develops its vision for Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus.