}
Queen Square Paintings
'In the spring of 1700 masons and bricklayers had invaded the quiet meadow, and the first steps were taken towards constructing a handsome square of mansions, worthy of the growing wealth of Bristol merchants.'
Latimer, Annals of Bristol in the Eighteenth Century.
Number 15, Queen Square, was a fashionable town house built in what was Bristol's new showpiece square in the early 1700s. Corporation guidelines governed the design and materials used for its exterior design but not the interior decoration. Its hall and stairwell were decorated with wall paintings of classical heroes, including 'The Armouring of Achilles' and 'The Judgement of Paris'. An over door with two 'putti' supporting the coat-of-arms of the Elton family also survives and these three are in Bristol Museum's collection. Others that no longer exist included a large painting of Vulcan forging a shield on the ceiling and single figures of 'Truth' and 'Justice' elsewhere. The paintings, which are oil on plaster and not frescoes, are a unique survival for Bristol.
Such a painting scheme, along with the exclusive address, would have amply demonstrated the wealth and status of the middle-class merchant family who lived there. They were probably painted around 1710-1720, soon after the house was built. The artist is uncertain but it is thought that they were probably commissioned by a member of the Elton family .
Latimer, Annals of Bristol in the Eighteenth Century.
Number 15, Queen Square, was a fashionable town house built in what was Bristol's new showpiece square in the early 1700s. Corporation guidelines governed the design and materials used for its exterior design but not the interior decoration. Its hall and stairwell were decorated with wall paintings of classical heroes, including 'The Armouring of Achilles' and 'The Judgement of Paris'. An over door with two 'putti' supporting the coat-of-arms of the Elton family also survives and these three are in Bristol Museum's collection. Others that no longer exist included a large painting of Vulcan forging a shield on the ceiling and single figures of 'Truth' and 'Justice' elsewhere. The paintings, which are oil on plaster and not frescoes, are a unique survival for Bristol.
Such a painting scheme, along with the exclusive address, would have amply demonstrated the wealth and status of the middle-class merchant family who lived there. They were probably painted around 1710-1720, soon after the house was built. The artist is uncertain but it is thought that they were probably commissioned by a member of the Elton family .