Lower Arcade

The Lower Arcade is an arcade built between 1824 and 1825 by architects Foster and Oakley, located in Broadmead, Bristol. Constructed from limestone and Pennant ashlar, it features a single-depth plan with shops flanking an axial arcade in the Greek Revival style. Each shop has two storeys and a two-window range. The Broadmead front includes a Pennant plinth beneath fluted Ionic columns in antis, with pilasters flanking plate-glass shop fronts. Above the shop fronts are panels, an entablature with a dentil cornice, a frieze of palmettes, and a parapet with half-blind balusters.

Inside, the arcade is divided into nine bays by columns supporting an entablature and a cast-iron frieze. The glazed roof is divided by panelled sections featuring lion heads. The Lower Arcade is a notable early example of a shopping arcade, inspired by the Burlington Arcade in Piccadilly, London, and measuring 600 feet in length, it competes with contemporary arcades in Cheltenham, Bath, and London. Originally, the arcade consisted of two sections, but the Upper Arcade was destroyed in 1940.