It took me a long time to actually take a look at the Dove Street flats. Out of the corner of my eye I had seen them, three 1960s towers poking over the top of the buildings on the west side of Stokes Croft, or catching a glimpse of them down the long staricases and alleyways that run from Kingsdown down the side of Cotham Hill.
If you are free at 8:45 PM on Wednesday 16th February tune in to Four Thought on Radio 4 (though the programme will be available for a week or two on iPlayer too).
In his early architectural work, especially on churches, Godwin took a close interest in tiling, and his sketchbooks include many plans and designs for the floors of Northampton Town Hall and other buildings.
(A knock at the door)
Driftwood: Yes?
Woman: Is my Aunt Minnie in here?
Driftwood: Well, you can come in and prowl around if you wanna.
Better late than never – the latest work from Stokes Croft Murals in the communal rooms at Kings Square Studios – artwork by ASK: 3-Dom, sepr and epok
The Bear Pit (aka the sunken pedestrian precinct in the centre of the St James Barton Roundabout) is not just ugly and neglected – it is contagious.
For most of the 1870s Godwin was designing high-end wallpaper for some of the country’s leading paper stainers and art furniture houses.
Stokes Croft is changing, visually, culturally and economically; compared to even to a couple of years ago there is now more street art, more artists and exhibitions, more businesses and punters.
While in later life Godwin was a creative polymath, the first twenty years of his career were focused on architecture and much of that work was done in Bristol.
There is, as far as I can see, no online directory or compilation of Godwin’s many different works. Images and information are scattered across many sites, in various museum collections, private ownership and antiques galleries.
