Dutch House

Old Houses And Tolley's Bank 1890
Enlarge photo |  More about this photo

The Dutch House - this 17th century building once stood on the corner of Wine Street. It was reduced to a charred skeleton during the Second World War and for safety's sake it had to be pulled down. The Dutch House was Bristol's best-known landmark before the Blitz. By 1732 it was the house of John Vaughan, a goldsmith, in 1810 it became the Castle Bank, in 1826 the Stuckey's Bank; and by 1855 it was occupied by Mr Tilly the Hatter (he first called it Dutch House though it has no connection with Holland). In 1908 it was saved from demolition by the Lord Mayor's casting vote. During the 1930s it housed the Irish Linen and Hosiery Association but was pulled down after being seriously bombed in 1940.