Brought to Portmeirion: 1959
Restored: 1987
Built in about 1760, the Colonnade stood in front of a bathhouse in Bristol, England. It was falling into decay when the structure was moved to Portmeirion.
Several hundred tons of delicate masonry were disassembled and transported to the Welsh village. Every stone was numbered, and replaced according to precise measurements.
Portmeirion designer Sir Clough Williams-Ellis didn't mind when visitors called his quirky village Home for Fallen Buildings. He wrote: "...I am often sent, and always gratefully follow up, news of impending demolitions of architectural interest, whence have resulted the most elegant Bristol Colonnade, the Normal Shaw façade… and other minor bits and pieces about the place."
An inscription reads: "This colonnade, built circa 1760 by the Quaker copper smelter William Reeve, stood before his bathhouse at Arnos Court, Bristol. Damaged by bombs, it had fallen to decay and although scheduled as an Ancient Monument, Her Majesty's Minister of Works approved its removal on condition that it should be rescheduled. Admired by its alert contemporary Horace Walpole for its grace as a Classical composition, enriched by Gothick detail, it was also held in regard by the Council for the Preservation of Ancient Bristol whose good offices and the generosity of its former owners, the Bristol Tramways & Carriage Company have made possible its presentation at Portmeirion."
