“THE AFRICAN BLONDIN HAS ARRIVED”

“The Hero of the Rope!”

“This wonderful Performer has astonished millions by his Daring and Marvellous Exploits on the High Rope.”

But this star attraction, this headline act, this guaranteed crowd puller is most elusive once away from the limelight.

An Historic England Blue Plaque Community Research Grant has made it possible to bring people together to shed some light on the private world of Carlos Trower.

Carlos and his family do not appear in the street directories. Their time on Christmas Steps falls between the 10 yearly census records. But there are clues to help us piece together the communities in which he lived and worked.

Community research at Bristol Archives