I don't know where Manilla Hall once stood, but according to my sources it was an elegant family mansion, and this road was named after it. All probably something to do with fighting in the Philippines in 1782. However the road was described by one, Henry Williams, an architect in 1888 as outrageously ugly and a local architectural historian went on to say that these houses that I saw today were just that on this side of the street! Houses swamped with 'un-Bristolian' terra cotta, and to a point he is absolutely correct, but I quite liked this 'ugly facarde'. I don't know who was the builder, but rumour has it that when he constructed the rank, he kept the centre house for himself, and built an extra floor to boot! My Client is buying the upper maisonette, three bedrooms and a roof garden, in the centre house, that was quite possibly converted in the 1930's, judging solely by the 'internal' letter boxes! It is all in need of a bit of tlc, a bit of a blow through to re-generate it and probably total redecoration. Rooms will be moved around, not literally of course, but the living room will become the bedroom and things like that! So, all in all an interesting day out in an outrageously street...   more »