Getting to Know Bristol

Bristol? Characteristics Bristol /brɪstəl/ is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial

county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009,[3] and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone (LUZ) with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007,[4] it is England's sixth, and the United Kingdom's eighth most populous city,[5] one of the group of English Core Cities and the most populous city in South West England.

Bristol received a Royal Charter in 1155 and was granted County status in 1373. From the 13th century, for half a millennium, it ranked amongst the top three English cities after London, alongside York and Norwich, on the basis of tax receipts,[6] until the rapid rise of Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester during the Industrial Revolution.

Geography

It borders the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire, and is also located near the historic cities of Bath to the south east and Gloucester to the north. The city is built around the River Avon, and it also has a short coastline on the Severn Estuary, which flows into the Bristol Channel.

History

Because of its prime position Bristol became important for the marine trade. Bristol’s port was the second largest in England after London as it was in such a prime position. Bristol traded with many other countries such as:

- France- Spain- Ireland- Portugal- Barbary Coast

The harbour

History

At this time Bristol’s main export was Woollen Cloth. They also exported coal and lead. They imported Wine, Grain, Slate, Timber and Olive Oil.

The Royal African Company, a London based trading company, had control over all trade between countries in Britain and Africa before the year 1698. The Society of Merchant Ventures, an organization of elite merchants in Bristol, wanted to commence participation in the African slave trade, and after much pressure from them and other interested parties in and around Britain, the Royal African Company’s control over the slave trade was broken in 1698. The first Bristol slave ship was the Beginning and was owned by Stephen Barker, purchased enslaved Africans and delivered them to the Caribbean.

The Georgian House

The Georgian House The Georgian House is a beautiful 18th century six storey

townhouse off Park Street. It was built for John Pinney by William Paty between 1788 and 1791.

The house is displayed as it might have looked in John Pinney’s day and is one of the best preserved period-house museums with decoration and furniture true to the period. John Pinney was a West India merchant who came to Bristol after retiring from the plantations in 1783. He founded Pinney and Tobin sugar merchants and became a very wealthy man.

He died in 1818 and the house passed to Charles, his youngest son. The building is an illustration of how Bristol profited from overseas trade and appeared in “A Respectable Trade” BBCs production of Philippa Gregory’s novel. Indeed the house was home to the slave Pero and the displays show how life differed for those above and below stairs.

Bristol’s floating harbour

Bristol and the pirates…and merchants

The Redcliffe Caves

Date: (1714-1837) There is a local story that the maze of

caves under Redcliffe Hill was used to store slaves before they were sold in Bristol. This might be because there were rumours that some French Sailors were kept in the caves as prisoners of war for a short time during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Goods used in the African and West Indian trades were stored in the caves.

The Llandoger Trow

The Llandoger Trow is a historic public house , dating from 1664. The pub was partially destroyed by a bomb in World War II, but three of the original five projecting gables remain.

Tradition has it that Daniel Defoe met Alexander Selkirk, his inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, here, and it was Robert Louis Stevenson’s inspiration for the Admiral Benbow in Treasure Island.

Bristol’s Function (Past)

Bristol offered:- A working harbour- Employment

Bristol’s Function (Present)

Bristol offers:- Employment- Education- Tourism

Home of the Concorde’s manufacturing

Gorgeous architecture

Bristol nowadays Bristol is the largest centre of culture,

employment and education in the region. Its prosperity has been linked with the sea since its earliest days. The commercial Port of Bristol was originally in the city centre before being moved to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth. In more recent years the economy has depended on the creative media, electronics and aerospace industries, and the city centre docks have been regenerated as a centre of heritage and culture.

Banksy’s art

What attracts people to come to Bristol?

Tourism (sphere of influence) – Shopping Centres, Zoo, Brunel’s architecture (Suspension Bridge, SS Great), Banksy’s Art, Clubs, Museums.

Education – Successful Schools and Universities

Bristol’s Function (Employers)

The main employers in Bristol are:- Bristol City Council- Ministry in Defence- NHS- University of Bristol

Who Are the People of Bristol?

Bristol's tourist information office Bristol in the wikipedia (English) Bristol en la wikipedia