Clifton Hardware

If Bill Bailey ran a hardware shop then Clifton Hardware would be it, packed as its small volume is with a diverse range of hardware together with curios whose function or purpose I can only guess at. I’m not referring merely to the Homer Simpson key rings. Useful DIY advice is seasoned with dry wit and a perfect command of mental arithmetic when totting up. Items in good nick are generally refundable without receipt. And where would we be without their legendary stock of over 100 varieties of light bulb? In the dark, of course. Just please don’t allow your children to play with the cotton reels.

I needed a hammer. I needed a hammer in the morning. I needed a hammer in the evening. I needed to hammer out danger, to hammer out a warning. All over this land.
I got my hammer from Clifton Hardware, which like other Unilocalers have said is the only shop of the kind in the area and probably the most useful shop in Clifton Village.
Well I’ve now got a hammer, and a pair of scissors, a clothes dryer and some ant killer powder. And I’ve got a song to sing all over this land. It’s the hammer of justice.

This isn’t so much a place for your general DIY solutions (although they are catered for just the same) but rather it’s a place for the, how does one say, serious DIY doer.
The shop is rammed full of the more durable and hard accessories. Take for instance its boasting sign that they house well over one hundred types of light bulb! Or let your eyes notice the wealth of jars, cans and bottles along the shelves. Every bleach, paint, solution possible at your finger tips!
In fact I’ll retract my original statement — this is a treasure trove for all DIYers!

I have lived and worked on the same street as Clifton Hardware so I truly understand just how valuable and useful this shop is, especially as it’s located in what can only be described as the least practical place to live anywhere on earth.
I mean if you want flowers, crockery, antiques, jewellery or trinkets you’re living in the right place. However, I was a 20 year old boy.
I don’t think I have bought a more diverse range of items from any shop in the world. Even when I used to work in a nearby pub and the manager had affection for strange lamps, with exotic light bulbs, no matter just how odd the light bulb I needed was, Clifton Hardware would stock it.
I have gone to them for door stops, spray paint, screws, TV aerials, glue, probably everything at some point or another, including a kitchen sink. It even smells like al lovely old hardware store, and these shops used to be the cornerstone of every high street. I challenge anyone to find a B&Q that smells as good as this place
Clifton Hardware can stand there proudly as the last bastion of usefulness in Clifton Village…
Just don’t ask them for Four Candles.

I must say I love this little store that looks like it was when time began. I once lived in the staff quarters of the Avon Gorge without anywhere to cook (except for a knackered old microwave they kindly provided for us in the ‘kitchen’), so I went here to get everything I needed to keep me alive. I was able to pick up an electric two hob cooker, a little fridge to keep milk and beer in, and all the saucepans and cutlery that I could need in one place. They’re a little on the pricey side, but for the utter convenience if you live in Clifton Village (which probably means you can afford more than the average joe), look no further.

For some reason, any shop with Clifton in it’s name thinks it can wrench up its prices, and Clifton Hardware is no different. It must be said though, that this shop is greatly needed in the area though, as there are few around.
The shop keeper is really helpful, finding exactly what you need to improve your fancy abode, and they usually have what you’re after in stock, with no need to order in. If you’re in town however, it might be worth comparing prices as this shop is located in the richest area of Bristol.

My parents moan that every year Clifton gets more and mor useless shops. Art galleries, coffee shops, yet another hairdressers. Basically expensive places where you can’t buy things like groceries. They’re right as well I think, so its a relief that Clifton Hardware store is still around.
Exactly what it says on the tin (and I should mention they Ronsil! Haha! Don’t worry if you don’t get it…) the walls here are lined with things like replacement mop heads, door bells, car batteries, etc. It’s pretty impressive that they manage to stuff so much into such a small space. There’s even more out the back. Just ask the man behind the till (always looking correct, with a pencil behind his ear) for a brass door knocker, or whatever, and he’ll disappear out the back before coming out with exactly what you want. Also good when you’re not quite sure which sort of paint you need or what size nails you want.
Down to earth and useful, Clifton Hardware store doesn’t really fit in with its surroundings. It’s a small blessing to have somewhere like this in Clifton, and I hope they don’t turn into an art gallery any time soon

They don’t make them like this any more !!
From a bath plug to a ball bearing you can get almost anything at this place and it saves the petrol travelling out to a B & Q.
Helpful, knowlegable (sorry, I left school at 15) staff and a friendly atmosphere
Highly recomended.

Clifton Hardware is an Aladdins cave of hardware, electrical components, and all sorts of bits and bobs that we never know we need until the TV makes an interesting sound and starts blowing smok out, which definitely wasn’t because you sat on the remote.
I found the staff to be very helpful in helping find various electrical items and I was surprised at the sheer volume of ‘stuff’ the guy has in the store. Invaluable to students and old people alike, Clifton Hardware is a much needed shop in Bristol.