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Bristol’s Institution for the Deaf and Dumb opened at the lower end of Park Row in late 1843, having previously been at 25 Orchard Street for just two years. The new school was set up in a building next to Park Academy, a part of the Bristol College (later the University of Bristol). When the school left in 1859 the Little Sisters of the Poor took over the building as a convent. Later, when Park Street was widened, the building was demolished, and around 1870 the Jewish Synagogue that exists today was built on the old school site.
The new school in Park Row opened with 18 pupils, although it was capable of accommodating 30. Unlike 25 Orchard Street, the school had a playground for the children. Hershorn’s history of Deaf education in Bristol refers to the school’s pupils as being ‘chiefly of the lower class’, meaning the poor. At least this meant that the children’s education was paid for by the city, not the parents.
The new Master was Robert Webster, previously of the Claremont Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, Dublin. Webster was a ‘harsh disciplinarian’, with a 12-hour school day. Webster left the school in 1851 after it became apparent to the school governors that he was making plans to set up his own private school for the Deaf in Elm Lane, Redland.
In January 1852 Mr Clyne replaced Webster as Master; he had previously taught at the Glasgow Institution for Deaf and Dumb. Clyn remained until 1862, by which time the school had moved to 3 Park Row. The building was taken over as a convent for the Little Sisters of the Poor, but was demolished (along with those either side) when the street was widened opposite the Red Lodge. The new building on the site (1869-71), and still present today, is the Jewish Synagogue.