Welcome to Bristol!
The MatthewThis famous city is widely known for it's chequered past, most notably perhaps for it's part in the shameful days of the slave trade, the profits from which boosted the city's prowess as a major maritime port. To it's credit, Bristol has made great efforts in recent years to acknowledge it's role in slavery.
Despite this dark chapter in its history, Bristol has a thriving multicultural society which continues to build on a rich and fascinating heritage.
Skateboarding by Bristol Harbour
Significant events
- Bristol came into being during Anglo-Saxon times, when a settlement grew up between the Rivers Avon and Frome. It was then known as Brigstowe (a place of settlement by the bridge). Right from this early beginning, it was as a port that the settlement grew, trading with Ireland and the ports of South Wales.
- After the Norman Conquest of 1066 a castle was built on what is now known as Castle Park
- In 1497, John Cabot set sail from Bristol in his ship the Matthew, hoping to find a passage to the Eastern Indonesia.
- The 18th century was a period of frequent rioting in Bristol
- 1709 Food Riot
- 1714 Political Riot
- 1728 / 1729 Weavers Riots
- 1727 - 1749 Turnpike Riots
- 1753 Food Riot
- 1793 Bridge Riot - against the Bristol Bridge tolls
- The Bristol 1832 Reform Bill Riots
- During the 19th century the success of Bristol's port was beginning to decline. Enter chief engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Brunel did more than anyone to shape the face of modern Bristol today, his legacy includes
- the Clifton Suspension Bridge(which the longest span of any bridge in the world at the time of construction),
- the SS Great Britain(the first propeller-driven ocean-going iron ship and also the largest ship ever built), and
- Temple Meads Old Railway Station.
- George White founded the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton in 1910.Since then Bristol has been the centre of the British aerospace industry
- WWII - During the Blitz, Bristol was severely damaged, with many lives lost and families displaced
- 1942 - Great George Street riot 15th July - racial tensions within the American GI troops came to a head,leaving one GI dead and many wounded (see Pages from Bristol's History)
- 1960's Concorde built and tested at Filton
- 1963 Boycott of the Bristol Omnibus Company for refusing to hire black drivers and conductors. This was the first black-led civil rights campaign in Britain
- 1982 opening of the Watershed, Britain's first media centre
- 1980's - The St Pauls Riots (see Pages from Bristol's History)
- 1980's: The roots of what was to become the Broadband revolution started with the widescale laying of fibre-optic cable throughout Bristol. Although later taken up by BT and then, as BT's monopoly was broken up, by more and more independent telephone companies, it was this early mass rollout of highspeed communications that kickstarted the revolution.
- 1990's: The commercial centre of Bristol gradually went into decline with the advent of the out of town shopping malls
- 2000's : Massive redevelopment of Bristol's Waterfront and reconstruction of Broadmead
If you spot any inaccuracies or would like to add something new about Bristol, please use the contact form at the bottom of the main menu.
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