Discover some of South Bristol’s darkest secrets with weekly historical walks

Discover some of South Bristol’s darkest secrets with weekly historical walks

Posted on: 27 Feb 2023

Presented by Show of Strength Theatre Company, the ‘Blood and Butchery in Bedminster’ walking tour takes attendees to forgotten places where extraordinary things happened.

 

‘Blood and Butchery in Bedminster’ takes place every Thursday from 6 PM at The Ropewalk pub on Nelson Parade.

 

This acclaimed tour recently featured in a brand-new podcast from BBC Sounds called ‘GANGSTER: THE STORY OF JOHN PALMER’ which includes a gruesome slice of Bedminster in the 1980s.

 

Book tickets for £12 HERE.

 

 

Bedminster is a neighbourhood older than Bristol itself, meaning it has a weird and wonderful history, filled with grave robbers and body snatchers, concrete coffins and hanging judges – as well as the missing millions from Britain’s biggest robbery, laundered in Bedminster.

 

Show of Strength Theatre Company's gripping tour will introduce attendees to people and places they didn’t know existed and – by the end of the evening – this vibrant South Bristol community will never seem the same again.

 

It’s been 40 years since the Brinks Mat robbery, one of the tour’s core stories and one that provides the basis for BBC Sounds podcast ‘GANGSTER: THE STORY OF JOHN PALMER’ and new BBC drama, The Gold (pictured below).

‘Blood and Butchery in Bedminster’ features all the details of John Palmer’s Bedminster links including his business premises, the bank where millions were handed over and Palmer’s pub. BBC Radio presenter Livvy Haydock called the tour “fantastic! So much fun and some really gruesome stories!”.

 

As well as Palmer, the tour also touches upon grave robbers and body snatchers, concrete coffins and hanging judges, a man-eating lion, one of the greatest imposters of all time and, of course, those missing millions. Bedminster has one hell of a gory past!

 

Taking place every Thursday at 6 PM, ‘Blood and Butchery in Bedminster’ begins at The Ropewalk (Nelson Parade) and ends on North Street, near the Hen & Chicken (food served until 9:30 PM). The tour lasts 2 hours and also stops at The Steam Crane, it is an adult-only event with a maximum group size of 20.

 

 

Tickets are priced at £12 and can be purchased HERE.

 

To find out more about the Show of Strength Theatre Company and what they do, head to their website now.

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Article by:

Stanley Gray

Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.