The Bristol Port Railway and Pier (also referred to as the Bristol Port and Pier Railway ) was a railway in Bristol , England.
94-567: Avonmouth ( / ˈ eɪ . v ə n m aʊ θ / AY -vən-mowth ) is a port and outer suburb of Bristol , England , on the north bank of the mouth of the River Avon and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuary . Part of the Port of Bristol , Avonmouth Docks is important to the region's maritime economy, hosting large vessels for the unloading and exporting of heavier goods. Much of
188-470: A Roman road ); another was at the present-day Inns Court . Isolated Roman villas and small forts and settlements were also scattered throughout the area. Bristol was founded by 1000; by about 1020, it was a trading centre with a mint producing silver pennies bearing its name. By 1067, Brycgstow was a well-fortified burh , and that year the townsmen beat back a raiding party from Ireland led by three of Harold Godwinson 's sons. Under Norman rule,
282-411: A statue of Colston was pulled down from its plinth by protestors and pushed into Bristol Harbour. The statue was recovered on 11 June and has become a museum exhibit. Bristol City council consists of 70 councillors representing 34 wards, with between one and three per ward serving four-year terms. As of May 2024, no party has an overall controlling majority, but Green Party are the largest group on
376-591: A car, van, motorbike or taxi, 2.2% commute by rail and 9.8% by bus, while 19.6% walk. The Runnymede Trust found in 2017 that Bristol "ranked 7th out of the 348 districts of England & Wales (1=worst) on the Index of Multiple Inequality." In terms of employment, the report found that "ethnic minorities are disadvantaged compared to white British people nationally, but this is to a greater extent in Bristol, particularly for black groups." Black people in Bristol experience
470-589: A century earlier than the earliest examples in Avonmouth. Today the pre-1893 mother parish of Shirehampton has definitive boundaries and c. 6,867 inhabitants. Shirehampton railway station provides travel to the city centre. The western end of the Lawrence Weston area crosses the boundary into the Avonmouth ward, however the majority of the area falls within the Kingsweston ward . The combined area
564-417: A compulsory load line on ships. By 1867, ships were getting larger and the meanders in the river Avon prevented boats over 300 ft (90 m) from reaching the harbour, resulting in falling trade. The port facilities were migrating downstream to Avonmouth and new industrial complexes were founded there. Some of the traditional industries including copper and brass manufacture went into decline, but
658-580: A detached part of the ancient parish of Westbury-on-Trym in Gloucestershire . Bewys Cross , a stone monument possibly dating from the 15th century, was located on the bank of the Severn close to the old mouth of the Avon. Early 19th-century maps show the area as farmland. At that time the deep-water channel of the Avon ran through the present-day site of Avonmouth Docks, and separated the mainland from
752-687: A developed area between the Bristol city boundary and the M4, M5 and M32 motorways (now in South Gloucestershire) was so named as part of a 1987 plan prepared by the Northavon District Council of Avon county. The West of England Combined Authority was created on 9 February 2017. Covering Bristol and the rest of the old Avon county with the exception of North Somerset, the new combined authority has responsibility for regional planning, roads, and local transport, and to
846-509: A lesser extent, education and business investment. The authority is led by the Mayor of the West of England , Dan Norris . Bristol's boundaries can be defined in several ways, including those of the city itself, the developed area, or Greater Bristol . The city council boundary is the narrowest definition of the city itself. However, it unusually includes a large, roughly rectangular section of
940-487: A shipbuilding and manufacturing centre. By the 14th century, Bristol, York and Norwich were England's largest medieval towns after London. One-third to one-half of the population died in the Black Death of 1348–49, which checked population growth, and its population remained between 10,000 and 12,000 for most of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the 15th century, Bristol was the second most important port in
1034-552: A single between Hotwells and Avonmouth was 1s 0d, 9d and 6d for first, second and third class respectively, with returns 6d more. By January 1866 the service was reduced to three down and four up per day, with one Shirehampton-Avonmouth except on Sundays; this increased to five up and down in April that year, with one Hotwells-Shirehampton except on Sundays. By June the service was five up and down on Sundays, and six on other days. Two extra trains per day were laid on when Avonmouth Docks
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#17327653555571128-586: A small island named Dumball Island. The first development at Avonmouth was a landing stage built in 1860 by Bristol Corporation at "Avon's Mouth". The first record of the modern name was in the title of the Port and Channel Docks (Avonmouth Dock) Bill debated in Parliament in early 1863. When the Bristol Port Railway and Pier was built in 1865 the terminus station was named Avonmouth . A hotel,
1222-475: Is 106 mi (171 km) west of London, 77 mi (124 km) south-southwest of Birmingham and 26 mi (42 km) east of the Welsh capital Cardiff . Areas adjoining the city fall within a loosely defined area known as Greater Bristol . Bath is located 11 mi (18 km) south east of the city centre, Weston-super-Mare is 18 mi (29 km) to the south west and the Welsh city of Newport
1316-503: Is 19 mi (31 km) to the north west. The climate is oceanic ( Köppen : Cfb) , milder than most places in England and United Kingdom. Located in southern England, Bristol is one of the warmest cities in the UK with a mean annual temperature of approximately 10.5 °C (50.9 °F). It is among the sunniest, with 1,541–1,885 hours of sunshine per year. Although the city
1410-513: Is approximately rectangular, its length favouring the Severn shore, and sits on the north bank of the Avon, west-north-west of Bristol city centre . Both estuaries have been defensively embanked, primarily to allow the construction of the large Avonmouth Docks, which occupy most of the western part. The related Royal Portbury Dock is across the Avon (in Easton-in-Gordano ). Avonmouth is home to chemical manufacturing plants, and north of
1504-660: Is home to the largest single footprint warehouse in the United Kingdom, a 1,250,000 sq ft portal frame building operated by The Range as a distribution centre. The enormous building occupies 55 acres of land and is part of the Central Park project located close to the Severn estuary shoreline. Previously, the largest single footprint warehouse in the United Kingdom was a building operated by Amazon in Dunfermline, Scotland which covers 1,000,000 sq ft. Avonmouth
1598-478: Is part of the Bristol North West constituency, which elects a member of Parliament (MP). Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston is an electoral ward electing three councillors to Bristol City Council . Apart from Avonmouth itself, the ward includes Shirehampton and part of Lawrence Weston . Shirehampton is a part of Bristol which has a medieval-founded village nucleus and contains buildings dating more than
1692-692: Is partially sheltered by the Mendip Hills, it is exposed to the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel . Rain is fairly evenly distributed throughout the year, with autumn and winter the wetter seasons. The Atlantic Ocean influences Bristol's weather, keeping its average temperature above freezing throughout the year, but winter frosts are frequent and snow occasionally falls from early November to late April. Summers are warm and drier, with variable sunshine, rain and clouds, and spring weather
1786-459: Is represented by 5 constituencies, East , North East , North West , South , and Central . The city has a tradition of political activism. Edmund Burke , MP for the Bristol constituency for six years beginning in 1774, insisted that he was a Member of Parliament first and a representative of his constituents' interests second. Women's-rights advocate Emmeline Pethick-Lawrence (1867–1954)
1880-569: Is separated from the rest of Bristol by a small amount of green land, see buffer zones . Comedian Lee Evans was born in Avonmouth on 25 February 1964. The following suburbs are in the same urban area, but lie in South Gloucestershire or North Somerset : Bristol Bristol ( / ˈ b r ɪ s t əl / ) is a city , unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England ,
1974-983: Is unsettled. The weather stations nearest Bristol for which long-term climate data are available are Long Ashton (about 5 mi (8 km) south west of the city centre) and Bristol Weather Station, in the city centre. Data collection at these locations ended in 2002 and 2001, respectively, and following the closure of Filton Airfield, Almondsbury is the nearest weather station to the city. Temperatures at Long Ashton from 1959 to 2002 ranged from 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) in July 1976 to −14.4 °C (6.1 °F) in January 1982. Monthly high temperatures since 2002 at Filton exceeding those recorded at Long Ashton include 25.7 °C (78.3 °F) in April 2003, 34.5 °C (94.1 °F) in July 2006 and 26.8 °C (80.2 °F) in October 2011. The lowest recent temperature at Filton
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#17327653555572068-596: Is unusual among major British towns and cities in its larger black than Asian population. These statistics apply to the Bristol Unitary Authority area, excluding areas of the urban area (2006 estimated population 587,400) in South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) and North Somerset—such as Kingswood, Mangotsfield, Filton and Warmley. 56.2% of the 209,995 Bristol residents who are employed commute to work using either
2162-921: The Ashton Court Estate , South Bristol crematorium and cemetery, High Ridge common and Whitchurch, with a further area around Frenchay Farm. The belt extends outside the city boundaries into surrounding counties and districts, for several miles in places, to afford a protection from urban sprawl to surrounding villages and towns. According to the 2011 census , 84% of the population was White (77.9% White British , 0.9% White Irish , 0.1% Gypsy or Irish Travellers and 5.1% Other White ); 3.6% mixed-race (1.7% white-and-black Caribbean, 0.4% white-and-black African, 0.8% white and Asian and 0.7% other mixed); 5.5% Asian (1.6% Pakistani , 1.5% Indian , 0.9% Chinese , 0.5% Bangladeshi , and 1% other Asian); 6% Black (2.8% African, 1.6% Caribbean , 1.6% Other Black ), 0.3% Arab and 0.6% with other heritage. Bristol
2256-534: The IRA , in 1974 and again in 1978 . The 20th-century relocation of the docks to Avonmouth Docks and Royal Portbury Dock , 7 mi (11 km) downstream from the city centre, has allowed the redevelopment of the old dock area (the Floating Harbour). Although the docks' existence was once in jeopardy (since the area was seen as a derelict industrial site), the inaugural 1996 International Festival of
2350-453: The Kennet and Avon Canal , which had fully opened in 1810 as the main route for the transport of goods between Bristol and London. Competition from Liverpool (beginning around 1760), disruptions of maritime commerce due to war with France (1793) and the abolition of the slave trade (1807) contributed to Bristol's failure to keep pace with the newer manufacturing centres of Northern England and
2444-644: The Levallois technique , indicate the presence of Neanderthals in the Shirehampton and St Annes areas of Bristol during the Middle Palaeolithic . Iron Age hill forts near the city are at Leigh Woods and Clifton Down , on the side of the Avon Gorge , and on Kings Weston Hill near Henbury . A Roman settlement, Abona, existed at what is now Sea Mills (connected to Bath by
2538-815: The M4 motorway at the Second Severn Crossing to Wales . The old Severn Bridge and the M48 motorway are linked to Avonmouth by the A403 . The Welsh cities of Newport and Cardiff are visible from Avonmouth's coastline. The Portway , part of the A4 , connects Avonmouth with the centre of Bristol. Avonmouth is also served by a usually hourly train service on the Severn Beach Line to central Bristol from Avonmouth railway station , Portway Park & Ride (in
2632-527: The Old English Brycgstow , meaning "assembly place by the bridge" or simply "site of the bridge", presumably in reference to a crossing over the Avon. The final l is an unetymological addition that first appears in the 12th century. An older form of the name survives as the surname Bristow , which is derived from the city. Archaeological finds, including flint tools believed to be between 300,000 and 126,000 years old made with
2726-654: The Second World War as an air-raid shelter by the people of Bristol. It became so popular that the City Council had to institute a pass system. The tunnel was once again used in the late twentieth century by the Bristol Gun Club , who converted a portion of it into a firing range . However, this ended following the passage of the Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997 which banned handguns in
2820-558: The West Midlands . The tidal Avon Gorge, which had secured the port during the Middle Ages, had become a liability. An 1804–09 plan to improve the city's port with a floating harbour designed by William Jessop was a costly error, requiring high harbour fees. During the 19th century, Samuel Plimsoll , known as "the sailor's friend", campaigned to make the seas safer; shocked by overloaded vessels, he successfully fought for
2914-402: The confluence of the rivers Frome and Avon. Bristol received a royal charter in 1155 and was historically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became a county corporate . From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities, after London, in tax receipts. A major port , Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to
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3008-620: The 1640's, during the English Civil War , the city was occupied by Royalists , who built the Royal Fort House on the site of an earlier Parliamentarian stronghold. Fishermen from Bristol, who had fished the Grand Banks of Newfoundland since the 16th century, began settling Newfoundland permanently in larger numbers during the 17th century, establishing colonies at Bristol's Hope and Cuper's Cove . Growth of
3102-631: The 16th century, Bristol merchants concentrated on developing trade with Spain and its American colonies. This included the smuggling of prohibited goods, such as food and guns, to Iberia during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) . Bristol's illicit trade grew enormously after 1558, becoming integral to its economy. The original Diocese of Bristol was founded in 1542, when the former Abbey of St. Augustine (founded by Robert Fitzharding four hundred years earlier) became Bristol Cathedral . Bristol also gained city status that year. In
3196-513: The 1879 Ordnance Survey map. The Crown Brick Works were owned by Edwin Stride, with his sons Jared and Jethro (who later developed Sneyd Park), together with George Davis and William and Jarman Peters. The Crown Brick Works company was dissolved in 1886. The new Avonmouth Dock and the original nucleus of the settlement were transferred from Gloucestershire to the City of Bristol in 1894, and the rest of
3290-420: The 19th century, ships had grown to such a size that navigating the Avon was not possible any more, and they had to dock at the head of the river at Avonmouth instead. The Bristol Port Railway and Pier Company (BPRP) was founded in 1862 with the intent to build a single-track 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge railway the 5.75 miles (9.25 km) from Avonmouth to
3384-503: The 3rd highest level of educational inequality in England and Wales. Bristol Port Railway and Pier mi - ch from Hotwells The Bristol Port Railway and Pier Company (BPRP) ran from a main terminus at Hotwells (originally called Clifton), northwards to west of Bristol city centre between the Clifton Suspension Bridge and Bridge Valley Road, to a terminus at Avonmouth . Upon leaving Hotwells,
3478-728: The Americas via Avonmouth, and during the First World War it housed the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps . It was finally demolished in 1926 when the Royal Edward Dock was expanded. Between 1919 and 1926, the Portway was built, providing more direct road access to Avonmouth from Bristol. Shirehampton had become a separate parish in 1844, and a Church of England chapel was established in the new settlement of Avonmouth late in
3572-523: The Avonmouth Docks is the gas-fired Seabank Power Station . Its light industrial and warehouse companies include Nisbets . Avonmouth is the only part of Bristol west of the M5 motorway. The long-established residential area is between the industrialised zone and the motorway. The Avonmouth Bridge takes the motorway over the Avon to Somerset . The M49 motorway runs from the M5 at Avonmouth north to
3666-736: The Avonmouth Hotel, was opened at the same time. A small new village was built to serve the new docks, which were finally opened in 1877. Also in 1877, the BPRP line was connected to the main railway network by the Clifton Extension Railway , and a new railway station named Avonmouth Dock was opened by the docks. Bricks for the docks were supplied by the Crown Brick Works in West Town, Shirehampton, visible on
3760-676: The BPRP effectively merging with the Clifton Extension Railway from 1 September that year. Increased traffic led to the line being doubled from Avonmouth to Shirehampton in 1903, and to Sneyd Park in 1907. The Avonmouth terminus closed to passengers in 1902 to allow construction of the Royal Edward Dock , although workers' trains continued into 1903. Traffic on the Hotwells branch peaked in 1910 at ten trains per day and six on Sundays, and in 1917 Hotwells Halt
3854-593: The BPRP itself, but instead were operated under a lease agreement by the Bristol and Exeter Railway . This lease was taken over by the Great Western Railway in 1871, along with the rest of the Bristol and Exeter. The BPRP had two 0-4-2 side tank locomotives, possibly from the St Helens Railway . Coaching stock was four-wheeled; there were initially 14 carriages, rising to around 20 according to some reports, all of which were disposed of when
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3948-502: The Extension Railway diverged north, and another line diverged west for freight, while the BPRP line continued into the station at Avonmouth Docks . Beyond there, the line diverged again, with one line going west to Avonmouth (Royal Edward) and another north to rejoin the Extension Railway. The main BPRP line continued on into its Avonmouth terminus. Bristol sits on the River Avon , with its docks several miles inland. By
4042-637: The Future 's 2008 Sustainable Cities Index. Local initiatives include Sustrans (creators of the National Cycle Network , founded as Cyclebag in 1977) and Resourcesaver, a non-profit business established in 1988 by Avon Friends of the Earth. In 2014 The Sunday Times named it as the best city in Britain in which to live. The city received the 2015 European Green Capital Award , becoming
4136-484: The New World. At the height of the Bristol slave trade , from 1700 to 1807, more than 2,000 slave ships carried an estimated 500,000 people from Africa to slavery in the Americas. The Port of Bristol has since moved from Bristol Harbour in the city centre to the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth and Royal Portbury Dock . The city's modern economy is built on the creative media, electronics and aerospace industries;
4230-628: The Sea held in and around the docks affirmed the area as a leisure asset of the city. From 2018, there were lively discussions about a new explicative plaque under a commemorative statue of one of the city's major benefactors in the 17th and 18th centuries. The plaque was meant to replace an original which made no reference to Edward Colston 's past with the Royal African Company and the Bristol Slave Trade . On 7 June 2020
4324-490: The United Kingdom, and the tunnel was once more abandoned. It is currently split in three parts – the firing range, a section of original tunnel, and the shelter. In the 2000s subsidence and movement in the Number Two tunnel affected the road above, Bridge Valley Road, which required major stabilization work and the waterproof tanking of the tunnel, to enable the road to be reopened. Initial service from March 1865
4418-416: The arrest, trial and subsequent acquittal of a local slaver captain named Kimber. The city was associated with Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel , who designed the Great Western Railway between Bristol and London Paddington , two pioneering Bristol-built oceangoing steamships ( SS Great Britain and SS Great Western ), and the Clifton Suspension Bridge . The new railway replaced
4512-560: The castle. A third bomb-damaged church nearby, St Nicholas was restored and after a period as a museum has now re-opened as a church. It houses a 1756 William Hogarth triptych painted for the high altar of St Mary Redcliffe . The church also has statues of King Edward I (moved from Arno's Court Triumphal Arch ) and King Edward III (taken from Lawfords' Gate in the city walls when they were demolished about 1760), and 13th-century statues of Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (builder of Bristol Castle ) and Geoffrey de Montbray (who built
4606-423: The city and trade came with the rise of England's American colonies in the 17th century. Bristol's location on the west side of Great Britain gave its ships an advantage in sailing to and from the New World, and the city's merchants made the most of it, with the city becoming one of the two leading outports in all of England by the middle of the 18th century. Bristol was the slave capital of England: In 1755, it had
4700-643: The city centre, alongside the Avon. The railway's act of Parliament, the Bristol Port, Railway and Pier Act 1862 ( 25 & 26 Vict. c. clix), was passed on 17 July 1862, with Benjamin Burleigh appointed as engineer. It was the first standard gauge line in Bristol. The company's headquarters was at Shirehampton , where the first sod was turned by the Mayoress of Bristol, Mrs S. V. Hare, on 19 February 1863. The railway opened on 6 March 1865, although this
4794-551: The city's walls) from Bristol's Newgate . The rebuilding of Bristol city centre was characterised by 1960s and 1970s skyscrapers , mid-century modern architecture and road building . Beginning in the 1980s some main roads were closed , the Georgian-era Queen Square and Portland Square were restored, the Broadmead shopping area regenerated, and one of the city centre's tallest mid-century towers
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#17327653555574888-876: The city, and its surrounding land has been protected from development as The Downs and Leigh Woods. The Avon estuary and the gorge form the county boundary with North Somerset , and the river flows into the Severn Estuary at Avonmouth . A smaller gorge, cut by the Hazel Brook which flows into the River Trym , crosses the Blaise Castle estate in northern Bristol. Bristol is sometimes described, by its inhabitants, as being built on seven hills, like Rome. From 18th-century guidebooks, these 7 hills were known as simply Bristol (the Old Town), Castle Hill, College Green, Kingsdown, St Michaels Hill, Brandon Hill and Redcliffe Hill. Other local hills include Red Lion Hill, Barton Hill , Lawrence Hill , Black Boy Hill, Constitution Hill, Staple Hill , Windmill Hill , Malborough Hill, Nine Tree Hill, Talbot, Brook Hill and Granby Hill. Bristol
4982-425: The city-centre docks have been redeveloped as cultural and heritage centres. There are a variety of artistic and sporting organisations and venues including the Royal West of England Academy , the Arnolfini , Ashton Gate and the Memorial Stadium . The city has two universities; the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol). It is connected to the world by Bristol Airport ; to
5076-412: The city-council boundary, such as Kingswood , Mangotsfield , Stoke Gifford , Winterbourne , Almondsbury , Easton in Gordano , Whitchurch village, Filton , Patchway and Bradley Stoke , but excludes undeveloped areas within that boundary. Bristol lies within a limestone area running from the Mendip Hills in the south to the Cotswolds in the northeast. The rivers Avon and Frome cut through
5170-399: The council. Between 2012 and 2024, the council was led by a directly elected mayor, the Mayor of Bristol . The post was abolished following a 2022 referendum, in which voters chose to replace it with a council committee system. The lord mayor of Bristol is a figurehead elected each May by the city council. The lord mayor is Councillor Andrew Varney. In the House of Commons , Bristol
5264-401: The country, trading with Ireland, Iceland and Gascony . It was the starting point for many voyages, including Robert Sturmy 's (1457–58) unsuccessful attempt to break the Italian monopoly of Eastern Mediterranean trade. New exploration voyages were launched by Venetian John Cabot , who in 1497 made landfall in North America. A 1499 voyage, led by merchant William Weston of Bristol, was
5358-401: The early 1900s by the Royal Edward Dock. Another new dock, the Royal Portbury Dock , opened across the river from Avonmouth during the 1970s. As air travel grew in the first half of the century, aircraft manufacturers built factories. The unsuccessful Bristol International Exhibition was held on Ashton Meadows in the Bower Ashton area in 1914. After the premature closure of the exhibition
5452-420: The enslaved captives were transported across the Atlantic to the Americas in the Middle Passage under brutal conditions. Plantation goods such as sugar, tobacco, rum, rice, cotton and a few slaves (sold to the aristocracy as house servants) returned across the Atlantic to England. Some household slaves were baptised in the hope this would lead them to be freed. The Somersett Case of 1772 clarified that slavery
5546-466: The expanding settlement became part of the City in 1904. Work began in 1902 on the Royal Edward Dock, a major expansion of the docks, completed in 1908. Land required for the expansion necessitated the closure of the original station, and from 1902 all trains terminated at Avonmouth Dock station (renamed "Avonmouth" in 1966). However, the Avonmouth Hotel adjacent to the original station remained open. It provided accommodation for many Europeans emigrating to
5640-465: The first UK city to receive this award. In 2019 Bristol City Council voted in favour of banning all privately owned diesel cars from the city centre. Since then, the plans have been revised in favour of a clean air zone whereby older and more polluting vehicles will be charged to drive through the city centre. The Clean Air Zone came into effect in November 2022. The city has green belt mainly along its southern fringes, taking in small areas within
5734-447: The first expedition commanded by an Englishman to North America . During the first decade of the 16th century Bristol's merchants undertook a series of exploration voyages to North America and even founded a commercial organisation, 'The Company Adventurers to the New Found Land', to assist their endeavours. However, they seem to have lost interest in North America after 1509, having incurred great expenses and made little profit. During
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#17327653555575828-423: The first two morning departures forsaking the Hotwells terminus for Hotwells Halt's longer platform. From September 1921, the Halt was the terminus of the BPRP line, as the Hotwells terminus was closed to allow construction of the A4 Portway . Hotwells Halt, and the line to Sneyd Park Junction, closed on 3 July 1922, with the final train running on 1 July. According to some sources, the trains were not operated by
5922-410: The history of the Irish slave trade from Bristol, which he provocatively claimed continued into the reign of Henry VII . Hannah More , originally from Bristol, and a good friend of both Wilberforce and Clarkson, published "Slavery, A Poem" in 1788, just as Wilberforce began his parliamentary campaign. His major speech on 2 April 1792 likewise described the Bristol slave trade specifically, and led to
6016-428: The import and processing of tobacco flourished with the expansion of the W.D. & H.O. Wills business. Supported by new industry and growing commerce, Bristol's population (66,000 in 1801), quintupled during the 19th century, resulting in the creation of new suburbs such as Clifton and Cotham . These provide architectural examples from the Georgian to the Regency style, with many fine terraces and villas facing
6110-446: The land use is industrial, including warehousing, light industry, electrical power and sanitation. The M5 motorway bisects the neighbourhood, with junctions onto the A4 road and M49 motorway , and it has stations on the Severn Beach Line railway. Avonmouth is part of the Bristol City Council electoral ward of Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston , which also includes Shirehampton and the western end of Lawrence Weston . Avonmouth
6204-466: The largest number of slave traders in the country with 237, as against London's 147. It was a major supplier of slaves to South Carolina before 1750. The 18th century saw an expansion of Bristol's population (45,000 in 1750) and its role in the Atlantic trade in Africans taken for slavery to the Americas. Bristol and later Liverpool became centres of the Triangular Trade . Manufactured goods were shipped to West Africa and exchanged for Africans;
6298-431: The limestone to the underlying clay, creating Bristol's characteristically hilly landscape. The Avon flows from Bath in the east, through flood plains and areas which were marshes before the city's growth. To the west the Avon cuts through the limestone to form the Avon Gorge, formed largely by glacial meltwater after the last ice age . The gorge, which helped protect Bristol Harbour, has been quarried for stone to build
6392-426: The line ran north alongside the River Avon through two tunnels, to a halt and passing point, then to Sneyd Park Junction, where the Clifton Extension Railway joined it. Continuing north following the river is the station at Sea Mills , then a bridge over the River Trym . The line curved west around Horse-Shoe Bend, then went slightly inland to Shirehampton , then turned back north-west. At Avonmouth Dock Junction
6486-417: The main line railways was needed to develop Avonmouth as a port. An extension from Hotwells to the city's main station at Temple Meads would have required crossing a large amount of developed land, and so was prohibitively expensive. Instead, a link was proposed from the BPRP at Sneyd Park , running under Clifton Down to join the Midland Railway and Bristol and South Wales Union Railway . The connection
6580-437: The most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon , it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. The county is in the West of England combined authority area, which includes the Greater Bristol area ( eleventh most populous urban area in the United Kingdom) and nearby places such as Bath . Iron Age hillforts and Roman villas were built near
6674-441: The neighbouring village of Kingswood , often in the open air. Wesley published a pamphlet on slavery, titled Thoughts Upon Slavery, in 1774 and the Society of Friends began lobbying against slavery in Bristol in 1783. The city's scions remained nonetheless strongly anti-abolitionist. Thomas Clarkson came to Bristol to study the slave trade and gained access to the Society of Merchant Venturers records. One of his contacts
6768-753: The nineteenth century. Avonmouth became a separate parish in 1917. Avonmouth's first church, completed in 1934, was bombed by the Luftwaffe in 1941 during the Second World War , in one of the six major raids of the Bristol Blitz . It was rebuilt in 1957. In December 1971, the M5 motorway was opened to Avonmouth, and extended south into Somerset when the Avonmouth Bridge was opened in May 1974. On 3 December 2020, four people were killed in an explosion at
6862-609: The rest of the Great Britain via Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway mainline rail stations; by road by both the south-west to West Midlands M5 and the London to South Wales M4 (which connect to the city centre by the Portway and M32 ). Bristol was named the best city in Britain in which to live in 2014 and 2017; it won the European Green Capital Award in 2015. The name derives from
6956-550: The road, and at right angles to it. In the early 19th century, the romantic medieval gothic style appeared, partially as a reaction against the symmetry of Palladianism , and can be seen in buildings such as the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery , the Royal West of England Academy , and The Victoria Rooms . Riots broke out in 1793 and 1831; the first over the renewal of tolls on Bristol Bridge, and
7050-513: The second against the rejection of the second Reform Bill by the House of Lords . The population by 1841 had reached 140,158. The Diocese of Bristol had undergone several boundary changes by 1897 when it was "reconstituted" into the configuration which has lasted into the 21st century. From a population of about 330,000 in 1901, Bristol grew steadily during the 20th century, peaking at 428,089 in 1971. Its Avonmouth docklands were enlarged during
7144-517: The site was used, until 1919, as barracks for the Gloucestershire Regiment during World War I . Bristol was heavily damaged by Luftwaffe raids during World War II ; about 1,300 people living or working in the city were killed and nearly 100,000 buildings were damaged, at least 3,000 beyond repair. The original central shopping area, near the bridge and castle, is now a park containing two bombed churches and fragments of
7238-403: The socioeconomic circumstances of the city's Afro-Caribbean residents. Local support of fair trade was recognised in 2005, when Bristol became a fairtrade zone . Bristol is both a city and a county, since King Edward III granted it a county charter in 1373. The county was expanded in 1835 to include suburbs such as Clifton , and it was named a county borough in 1889 when that designation
7332-498: The southeast of the neighbourhood) and St Andrews Road (in the western industrial zone). A new deep-sea container terminal has been proposed for Avonmouth. The mouth of the Avon was recorded as Afenemuþan in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle under the years 915 or 918 and 1052, but it is clear from the context that the name does not refer to a settlement. The area was historically part of the chapelry of Shirehampton,
7426-622: The town had one of the strongest castles in southern England . Bristol was the place of exile for Diarmait Mac Murchada , the Irish king of Leinster , after being overthrown. The Bristol merchants subsequently played a prominent role in funding Richard Strongbow de Clare and the Norman invasion of Ireland . The port developed in the 11th century around the confluence of the Rivers Frome and Avon , adjacent to Bristol Bridge just outside
7520-432: The town walls. By the 12th century, there was an important Jewish community in Bristol which survived through to the late 13th century when all Jews were expelled from England. The stone bridge built in 1247 was replaced by the current bridge during the 1760s. The town incorporated neighbouring suburbs and became a county in 1373, the first town in England to be given this status. During this period, Bristol became
7614-456: The water treatment plant . The 10-hectare (25-acre) Avonmouth Sewage Treatment Works is managed as a nature reserve by Wessex Water . The human-made lagoons and a pool provide a feeding and resting area for many birds including ducks such as pochard , tufted duck , teal and shoveler . The rough grassland provides a refuge for voles , great crested newt and other small mammals, which are preyed upon by kestrels and barn owls . Avonmouth
7708-540: The western Severn Estuary ending at (but not including) the islands of Flat Holm (in Cardiff , Wales) and Steep Holm . This "seaward extension" can be traced back to the original boundary of the County of Bristol laid out in the charter granted to the city by Edward III in 1373. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has defined a Bristol Urban Area , which includes developed areas adjoining Bristol but outside
7802-517: Was authorised in 1867, but the BPRP was in financial difficulties and unable to attract investors. Instead, the company joined forces with the Midland and Great Western Railways to build the Clifton Extension Railway , which opened in 1877 for freight to the newly built Avonmouth Docks . The double-track CER was not initially open to passengers, as although the Sneyd Park – Clifton Down section
7896-576: Was born in Bristol, and the left-winger Tony Benn served as MP for Bristol South East in 1950–1960 and again from 1963 to 1983. In 1963 the Bristol Bus Boycott , following the Bristol Omnibus Company 's refusal to hire black drivers and conductors, drove the passage of the UK's 1965 Race Relations Act . The 1980 St. Pauls riot protested against racism and police harassment and showed mounting dissatisfaction with
7990-461: Was built to handle the large number of wartime munitions workers travelling to Avonmouth. The branch was closed in 1922 to make way for construction of the A4 Portway . The line from Sneyd Park Junction to Dock Junction and the stations of Shirehampton and Sea Mills survive as part of the Severn Beach Line . Portnalls Number One Railway Tunnel, just north of Hotwells station, was used during
8084-454: Was certified for passenger use in 1878, the MR and GWR did not believe the BPRP line was in a suitable state to carry their passengers. The MR obtained parliamentary powers to install block signalling on the line at the BPRP's expense, and through trains eventually started on 1 September 1885. On 25 July 1890, Parliament approved a bill allowing the Midland and Great Western to buy out the BPRP,
8178-476: Was demolished. Bristol's road infrastructure changed dramatically during the 1960s and 1970s with the development of the M4 and M5 motorways , which meet at the Almondsbury Interchange just north of the city and link Bristol with London (M4 eastbound), Swansea (M4 westbound across the Severn Estuary ), Exeter (M5 southbound) and Birmingham (M5 northbound). Bristol was bombed twice by
8272-472: Was illegal in England. At the height of the Bristol slave trade from 1700 to 1807, more than 2,000 slave ships carried a conservatively estimated 500,000 people from Africa to slavery in the Americas. In 1739, John Wesley founded the first Methodist chapel, the New Room , in Bristol. Wesley, along with his brother Charles Wesley and George Whitefield , preached to large congregations in Bristol and
8366-633: Was introduced. On 1 April 1974, Bristol became a local government district of the county of Avon . On 1 April 1996, Avon was abolished and Bristol became a unitary authority . The former Avon area, called Greater Bristol by the Government Office of the South West (now abolished) and others, refers to the city and the three neighbouring local authorities— Bath and North East Somerset , North Somerset and South Gloucestershire previously in Avon. The North Fringe of Bristol ,
8460-401: Was not announced in advance so that the line would not be overwhelmed by more people than the single locomotive could haul, and timetables were posted at Hotwells only minutes before the first departure. As built, the railway was isolated from the rest of the national network, having not been intended for anything more than local traffic. However, with very little goods traffic, a connection to
8554-433: Was opened, and by summer 1887 there were ten up and down, with four each way and an Avonmouth-Shirehampton return on Sundays. By 1910 Avonmouth was no longer a resort, but instead a workplace, and so Sunday service was reduced to two trains each way, taking 19 minutes each. The Sunday service had been completely discontinued by 1920, with weekday service reduced to nine down and eight up, with journey times of 18 minutes, and
8648-399: Was six trains per day in each direction, with four down (Hotwells to Avonmouth) and five up (Avonmouth to Hotwells) on Sundays, taking around 30 minutes for the 5.75 miles (9.25 km) trip. On weekdays the quickest was 26 minutes, and 20 minutes on Sundays as Shirehampton was closed due to objections from the local church, although this concession was reversed by May that year. The fare for
8742-460: Was the owner of the Seven Stars public house , who boarded sailors Clarkson sought to meet. Through these sailors he was able to observe how slaver captains and first mates "plied and stupefied seamen with drink" to sign them up. Other informants included ship surgeons and seamen seeking redress. When William Wilberforce began his parliamentary abolition campaign on 12 May 1788, he recalled
8836-519: Was −10.1 °C (13.8 °F) in December 2010. Although large cities in general experience an urban heat island effect, with warmer temperatures than their surrounding rural areas, this phenomenon is minimal in Bristol. Bristol was ranked as Britain's most sustainable city (based on its environmental performance, quality of life, future-proofing and approaches to climate change, recycling and biodiversity), topping environmental charity Forum for
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