The area was damaged by aerial bombing during the Bristol Blitz in World War II, and was subsequently blighted by a plan to widen this part of the A38, but in more recent times it has rebuilt itself as a centre of art, music and counter-cultural lifestyle.

Later investigations suggested that frustration toward the new shop was entwined with other local tensions brought on by years of bad financial management by Bristol City Council.

[3][4] His will recorded the area as "Berewykse Croft in Redeland", while the will of Nicholas Excestre, who died in 1434, named it "formerly John Stoke's close (ibid.)".

Urban development was first logged in the parish records of 1678, while St James Square, to the west of Stokes Croft, was laid out by around 1710.

[8] Owing to the lack of large-scale development, small and independent businesses set up on Stokes Croft, which contributed to the bohemian character of the street.

The Carriage Works has been designated by English Heritage as a grade II* listed building, and was regenerated as a mixed-use residential and commercial development in 2022.

[13] In 2006 a Heritage Lottery Fund grant was obtained by Bristol City Council to help overturn the decline in economic activity and environmental quality and a rise in social problems seen in the area since the 1970s.

[19][20] In 1837, rioting broke out after the annual St James Fair in Stoke's Croft was cancelled, following continual complaints from local landowners about excessive drinking, gambling and prostitution.

This action led to a riot involving many people and lasting for much of the night, during which the shop-front of the Tesco Store was damaged and some looting took place.