Pero's Bridge

Pero's Bridge is a pedestrian bascule bridge crossing the harbourside, opened in 1999 and named after Pero Jones — an enslaved man brought to Bristol from the West Indies in the 18th century, who lived and died in the city without freedom. The bridge is distinguished by its two large yoke-shaped counterweights that reference the yokes used to restrain enslaved people; it is a deliberately discomforting piece of public design.

The bridge connects the Bordeaux Quay side of the harbour to the Lloyds Amphitheatre area and is part of the main harbourside walking route. It lifts periodically to allow vessels to pass through to the inner harbour. The naming and the design make it part of Bristol's ongoing reckoning with its slave trade heritage — a subject that has become considerably more prominent since the toppling of the Colston statue in 2020. The nearby Georgian House Museum at 7 Great George Street (where Pero Jones lived as an enslaved man) is a complementary visit.

things to do sight harbourside
A story
Pero Jones was an enslaved African man brought to Bristol by John Pinney, a plantation owner from Nevis, in 1783. He lived in the household at 7 Great George Street (now the Georgian House Museum) and died in 1798 without ever being freed. Pero's Bridge was opened in 1999 as part of the harbourside regeneration and named after him on the recommendation of artist Marcia Bennett-Wake, as a small acknowledgement of the lives erased by Bristol's slave trade history.

Other places in Things to Do