EAW000735 ENGLAND (1946). The Wills Memorial Building and environs, Bristol, from the south, 1946

Bombed and roofless Bristol Museum - now (in 2024) this building is Browns Restaurant. After repairs to this war damage, the ground-floor of the building became the University refectory before Browns took it on while the University retained use of the first-floor. Incidentally, the replacement roof that was installed was of corrugated asbestos and that 'eyesore' remains today. Because of this bomb damage, the Museum moved into Bristol Art Gallery next-door (to the East) to become the combined Bristol Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG). Wills Hall - at the rear of BMAG also suffered bad damage (not evident in this photo). Some of the rear-hall shrapnel damage was deliberately left unrepaired and can be seen today at BMAG - particularly the large, Chinese bronze bell, still in Wills Hall.

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery (BMAG). This building was originally just Bristol Art Gallery until the Museum part - the roofless building in this picture (now in 2024 Browns Restaurant) to the left (West) was bombed (see pin comment for that building). That roofless building is now (2024) Browns Restaurant.

The Dug Out