155-739: The London and South Western Railway ( LSWR , sometimes written L&SWR ) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway , its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth , to Salisbury , Exeter and Plymouth , and to Padstow , Ilfracombe and Bude . It developed a network of routes in Hampshire , Surrey and Berkshire , including Portsmouth and Reading . The LSWR became famous for its express passenger trains to Bournemouth and Weymouth, and to Devon and Cornwall. Nearer London it developed
310-470: 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,
465-411: 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
620-591: 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
775-516: A circular service started from Euston via Willesden and Waterloo to London Bridge. The SER was clearly reluctant to encourage this service, and diverted it to Cannon Street. It struggled on until ceasing on 31 December 1867. A few van shunts, and also the Royal Train, were the only movements over the line after that. The SER decided to instead build its own station at Waterloo, now known as Waterloo East , requiring passengers to transfer to-and-from
930-417: 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
1085-550: A connecting line from Fareham. Initially intending to build its own line to Portsmouth, it compromised and joined the LBSCR route from Brighton. The actual point of junction was on a spur near Cosham, and it was agreed that the line into Portsmouth from there would be jointly operated. This still fell short of the expectations of Portsmouth people, as the choice was via Brighton, reversing there, or via Bishopstoke. A branch line from Woking to Guildford and Godalming had been opened, and now
1240-598: A dedicated station on the south side of the LSWR station, opening it in 1854. It was independent of the LSWR, but it chartered daily funeral trains to from Waterloo to Brookwood for mourners and the deceased. First, second and third class accommodation was provided on the trains. The Necropolis Station was demolished and replaced by a new one beyond Westminster Bridge Road railway bridge; its new station had two platforms, and opened on 16 February 1902. The service continued until May 1941. The Charing Cross Railway (CCR), supported by
1395-479: A deep level tube railway. Although it had limitations, it showed the idea to be practical and popular, and the LSWR saw that this was a way forward. The company encouraged the development of a tube railway from Waterloo to a "City" station, later renamed "Bank". The LSWR sponsored a nominally independent company to construct the line, and the Waterloo and City Railway Company was incorporated by an act of Parliament,
1550-436: A dense suburban network and was pioneering in the introduction of a widespread suburban electrified passenger network. It was the prime mover of the development of Southampton Docks , which became an important ocean terminal as well as a harbour for cross channel services and for Isle of Wight ferries. Although the LSWR's area of influence was not the home of large-scale heavy industry, the transport of goods and mineral traffic
1705-687: 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
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#17327731925761860-400: A heavy train was usually achieved by setting back on to a scotch, so as to slacken all the couplings, and then to start forward. Up trains arriving at Nine Elms stopped before entering the station and the locomotive was detached; the train was then roped into the station. At this early date, a primitive form of time interval system was used: a train might not proceed until the preceding train
2015-509: 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
2170-482: A line from Bishopstoke to Portsmouth. Dissatisfaction with the rate of progress led to an inspection by a committee of the Lancashire shareholders. During the course of discussions, it became evident that not only were costs overrunning the original estimates, but that revised estimates, both of cost and of potential income, submitted by Giles were unreliable. The directors wished to raise an additional £500,000 but it
2325-489: A line from Godalming to Havant, joining the LBSCR line there, was made. The LSWR route relied on running powers over the LBSCR route from Havant to Portcreek Junction. The LBSCR was very disputatious at this period, and there was an undignified stand-off at Havant before mature arrangements were agreed. The Portsmouth station was about a mile (about 1.5 km) from piers at which the Isle of Wight ferries might be boarded, and as
2480-474: A line from Pirbright Junction, on the main line near Brookwood, to a junction near Farnham via Aldershot. The new line opened in 1870. A curve was opened in 1879 at Aldershot Junctions enabling direct running from Guildford to Aldershot; the original line via Tongham declined as a result. The local network was electrified in 1937 and the Tongham line was closed to passengers at that time. The Bordon Light Railway
2635-492: A rival port—at being given simply as branch and thereby a roundabout route to London, killed the prospects of such a line. Portsmouth people wanted their own direct line, but in trying to play off the L&;SR against the London and Brighton Railway they were unable to secure the committed funds they needed. The L&SR now promoted a cheaper line to Gosport , on the opposite side of Portsmouth Harbour , shorter and simpler than
2790-487: 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
2945-606: A suburban network was developing, and this gathered pace in the following decades. The Chertsey branch line opened from Weybridge to Chertsey on 14 February 1848. The Richmond line was extended, reaching Windsor in 1849, while a loop line from Barnes via Hounslow rejoining the Windsor line near Feltham had been opened in 1850. In 1856 a friendly company, the Staines, Wokingham and Woking Junction Railway, opened its line from Staines to Wokingham , and running powers over
3100-416: A transverse line, with four turn-tables at the point of intersection, runs across to the carriage-landing, which is on the right as you leave Nine Elms ... Without the shed a second cross line runs off to the carriage-house and locomotives' department. There are altogether beyond the shed eleven lines of way, including sidings. The locomotives' engine-house is a rectangular building, lofty and convenient, and
3255-475: 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
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#17327731925763410-448: 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
3565-649: Is a city , unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England , 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
3720-645: Is built on the creative media, electronics and aerospace industries; 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
3875-523: Is furnished with four lines of way, some of which are provided with engine-races ... a triple way is extended from the Nine Elms station as far as the coke-ovens. The locomotives used coke rather than coal; coke was considered to emit less smoke, and the company made its own coke at Nine Elms. Whishaw describes the plant in some detail. Although the Thames-side location was convenient for wharfage,
4030-692: 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
4185-459: 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)
4340-1035: 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
4495-596: 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
4650-556: The gauge wars . In the early days government held that several competing railways could not be sustained in any particular area of the country, and a commission of experts referred to informally as the "Five Kings" was established by the Board of Trade to determine the preferred development, and therefore the preferred company, in certain districts, and this was formalised in the Railway Regulation Act 1844 . The LSWR
4805-921: 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
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4960-728: The European Green Capital Award in 2015. The name derives from 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
5115-534: 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
5270-453: 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
5425-644: 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
5580-548: The London and South Western Railway . The bill for the branch line passed in Parliament as the London and South Western Railway (Portsmouth Branch Railway) Act 1839 ( 2 & 3 Vict. c. xxviii) and the name change was ratified under section 2 of the same act, taking effect on 4 June 1839. The branch was to run from Bishopstoke (later Eastleigh) to Gosport, giving a ferry connection to Portsmouth. The fine building frontage designed by Tite included offices; Wishaw described
5735-629: The South Eastern Railway (SER), opened from London Bridge to Charing Cross on 11 January 1864. Under the terms of the Charing Cross Railway Act 1859 ( 22 & 23 Vict. c. lxxxi), the CCR was required to build a spur from its line to the LSWR at Waterloo. The single-track connection ran through the station concourse between platforms 2 and 3 and there was a movable bridge to allow passengers to cross. On 6 July 1865
5890-548: The Waterloo and City Railway Act 1893 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. clxxxvii), of 27 July 1893. The line was only the second bored tube railway in the world; it was electrified, and was 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (3 km) in length; it opened to the public on 8 August 1898. The LSWR absorbed it in 1907. The LSWR's dominant route to Portsmouth was what became the Portsmouth Direct Line, its importance enhanced by
6045-610: The West London Extension Railway , then reaching the LCDR at Longhedge Junction. From there Ludgate Hill was accessible via Loughborough Junction. The Kingston to Malden link also opened on 1 January 1869; running through independently of the main line to Wimbledon, it joined the Epsom line at Epsom Junction, later Raynes Park station . The Kingston and Epsom lines ran to a separate station at Wimbledon at first; this
6200-558: 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
6355-620: 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
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6510-631: 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
6665-400: The 23 miles. The 23 miles from Woking Common to nine Elms were covered in 57 minutes. Woking only had one platform at first. Epsom races were held in the second week of operation, and the company advertised the intention of running eight trains to Kingston on Derby Day. That morning a crowd of about 5,000 persons was found at the station gates. Several trains were despatched but still
6820-586: The Archdeacon and Prebendary of Winchester wrote to the company complaining about the operation of trains on Sundays, contrary to Scripture. The chairman, John Easthope sent a forthright and carefully reasoned reply, bringing the issue swiftly to a close. The final sections, the difficult (in engineering construction terms) section from Basingstoke to Winchester, and the short extension to the Southampton terminus, were opened on 11 May 1840. A train conveyed
6975-518: The Directors from Nine Elms and arrived in Southampton three hours later, being received there by a salute of 21 guns. Its construction had cost more than the original estimates; in January 1832, the declared estimates amounted to £1,033,414, but the financial reconstruction arising from the November 1836 revision used £1,507,753; the outturn was somewhat above this figure at £1,551,914: In 1839,
7130-637: 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
7285-490: The GWR point of view, says that "This was the beginning of a long and bitter hostility to their (the L&SR's) great neighbour." Construction started on 6 October 1834, with Francis Giles as engineer. His method was to employ a number of small contractors working concurrently, the railway company supplying the materials. Fay states that the contractors completed the easier parts of the work first and then demanded higher prices for
7440-457: The Gosport branch. It opened in 1894, but it never had through trains on to the LSWR. It closed to passengers in 1931 and completely in 1935. The LSWR opened a line from Guildford to Farnham in 1849, extending to Alton in 1852. At the time the establishment of the army garrison at Aldershot led to a massive increase in population there, and consequently demand for travel, and the LSWR constructed
7595-407: The L&SR included in its bill a change of name to the London and South Western Railway under section 2. Construction of the Gosport branch was at first quick and simple under the contractor Thomas Brassey . Stations were built at Bishopstoke (the new junction station; later renamed Eastleigh) and Fareham . An extremely elaborate station was built at Gosport , tendered at £10,980, seven times
7750-698: The LBSCR three miles north of Streatham Junction. The LCDR connection gave direct access to Ludgate Hill, and friendly relations now existed between the LSWR and the LBSCR, such that running powers were agreed to bridge the gap. All the route sections were ready and LSWR trains started using the route on 1 January 1869. The LSWR continued to be concerned about the remoteness of Waterloo from the City of London. The approaches to Ludgate Hill via Loughborough Junction were circuitous and slow, and inaccessible to passengers using main line trains, and outer suburban trains, at Waterloo. The City and South London Railway opened in 1890 as
7905-482: The LSWR and the LBSCR. The purported object of this short line was to alleviate the transfer to the ferries; by this time the through trains from London ran through to Portsmouth Harbour, so the benefit of changing trains to get to another pier was non-existent, and the Southsea Railway was a commercial failure. In an attempt to arrest the decline, railmotors were built to operate the line; these were reputedly
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#17327731925768060-417: The LSWR on foot. The inconvenience of the location of Waterloo as a London terminal continued to exercise the Board of the LSWR. At this time the London, Chatham and Dover Railway was building its own line to the city, but was in financial difficulty having overreached itself. It therefore welcomed an approach from the LSWR to use its Ludgate Hill station in the City of London, when a financial contribution
8215-598: The London and South Western Railway, and instead built a branch line from Bishopstoke (Eastleigh) to Gosport , opening on 7 February 1842. Portsmouth could be reached from Gosport by ferry. The importance of Portsmouth attracted the rival London, Brighton and South Coast Railway , which sponsored the construction of a route from Brighton to Portsmouth via Chichester. This opened on 14 June 1847. Portsmouth could now be reached from London via Brighton The LSWR had realised how unsatisfactory its approach to Portsmouth was, and made
8370-461: The North, a total area of 16 acres (6.5ha). Two more tracks were added down the main line from Waterloo to Nine Elms between 1886 and 1892; the seventh line was added on the east side on 4 July 1900, and the eighth in 1905. New platforms 1 to 3 were opened to traffic on 24 January 1909, followed by platform 4 on 25 July 1909 and platform 5 on 6 March 1910. New platforms 6 to 11 followed in 1913. In 1911
8525-619: The Pier Head in 1880. It was not operated by the mainland companies, but by the Isle of Wight's own lines, which used it as an extension of their own routes. In 1923, all the Island lines, including this, transferred to the new Southern Railway as part of the Grouping process. An independent Southsea Railway was promoted, from Fratton station, serving Clarence Pier on the south side of Portsea Island. It opened on 1 July 1885, operated jointly by
8680-628: 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
8835-526: The South West, the West of England, and even the West Midlands, and the LSWR and its allies continually fought the GWR and its allies to be the first to build a line in a new area. The GWR was built on the broad gauge of 7 ft 1 ⁄ 4 in or 2,140 mm while the LSWR gauge was standard gauge ( 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in or 1,435 mm ), and
8990-686: The Thames to and from Nine Elms and Dyers Hall Wharf, Upper Thames Street, and Hungerford Market. The practice of dealing with passengers was inherited from road coach and cart operation. Intending passengers were issued with a paper ticket filled in by hand. Carriages were not lit, and second class carriages were "sideless". Third class passengers were carried from the opening of the whole line, in open trucks attached to goods trains. First class coaches had three compartments each; they were very low and narrow, "travellers' knees were pressed uncomfortably hard against those of their opposite neighbour". Second class
9145-524: The United Kingdom) and nearby places such as Bath . Iron Age hillforts and Roman villas were built near 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
9300-550: The West of England (UWE Bristol). It is connected to the world by Bristol Airport ; to 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
9455-429: The allegiance of any proposed independent railway was made clear by its intended gauge. The gauge was generally specified in the authorising act of Parliament , and bitter and protracted competition took place to secure authorisation for new lines of the preferred gauge, and to bring about parliamentary rejection of proposals from the rival faction. This rivalry between the GWR and the standard gauge companies became called
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#17327731925769610-566: 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
9765-502: The best that could be managed, one hour before the departure of each train from Nine Elms, and called at several intermediate piers on the way. To take one hour and only get as far as the starting point of the train was clearly not good enough, not even 150 years ago. The "Metropolitan Extension" to a more central location had been discussed as early as 1836, and a four-track extension was authorised from Nine Elms to what became Waterloo station, at first called Waterloo Bridge station. Opening
9920-426: The booking office window announcing that no more trains would run that day. By the end of the first twelve weeks, receipts had totalled £11,059 12s 3d for the carriage of 93,795 passengers; no goods had been carried at this stage. Working expenses were about 59% of receipts, considerably more than had been forecast. On 24 September 1838, the line was opened as far as Shapley Heath (now Winchfield) "which had
10075-560: 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
10230-480: 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
10385-417: 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
10540-876: 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
10695-412: 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
10850-481: The contractors to provide the materials themselves. Under Locke's superintendence, the work progressed more reliably and rapidly. On 12 May 1838, a party of directors and others made an experimental trip from Nine Elms to Woking Common. That portion of the line was opened to passengers "without any special demonstration" on 21 May 1838, with five passenger trains running each way daily, and four on Sundays. Fares were 5s 0d first class and 3s 6d second class for
11005-399: 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
11160-519: 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
11315-499: The development of leisure travel to the Isle of Wight. Alton followed, later encouraging a local network for the Aldershot military depots, and itself forming a hub for secondary routes. The London and Southampton Railway opened in 1838, part of the way, and in 1840 throughout. Its promoters wanted to make a branch line to Portsmouth, but in those early days the cost of a direct route was impossibly daunting. The company renamed itself
11470-409: The docks, which were also directly served by goods trains. The railway was immediately successful, and road coaches from points further west altered their routes so as to connect with the new railway at convenient interchange points, although goods traffic was slower to develop. The London and Southampton Railway promoters had intended to build a branch from Basingstoke to Bristol , but this proposal
11625-564: The earlier proposal, but requiring a ferry crossing. Approval had been given in 1838 for the construction of a so-called floating bridge, a chain ferry , which started operation in 1840. The ferry would give an easy transit across Portsmouth Harbour, and the L&SR secured its act of Parliament, the London and South Western Railway (Portsmouth Branch Railway) Act 1839 ( 2 & 3 Vict. c. xxviii) on 4 June. To soothe feelings in Portsmouth,
11780-599: 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
11935-669: The earthworks necessary, and which replaced a proposed tunnel at Popham with a cutting on an eight-mile deviation from the original route. Locke replaced the small contractors on the section from Wandsworth to the Wey Navigation, and brought in Thomas Brassey , who had successfully worked on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway and the Grand Junction Railway . On the more westerly sections he required
12090-409: The effect of bringing the majority of the coaches running to the south west and west of England to that station". Then on 10 June 1839, the line was formally opened from Shapley Heath to Basingstoke and from Winchester to Northam Road, just short of the Southampton terminus. Road coaches plied over the gap between Basingstoke and Winchester, and the throughout journey occupied five hours. At this stage
12245-595: 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
12400-465: 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
12555-511: 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
12710-649: The first in the United Kingdom. The line closed in 1914. The market town of Midhurst wished to secure a railway and the Petersfield Railway was formed to build a line. The LSWR absorbed the local company before construction was complete, and it opened as a simple branch of the LSWR on 1 September 1864. A landowner wished to develop an area on the coast west of Gosport, planning a high class watering place. A railway branch line was, he believed, essential, and he paid for one to be built, connecting with
12865-621: The first part of the Kingston loop line . A single-track Shepperton branch line was laid in 1864, reaching westwards up the Thames Valley. In 1869 the Kingston loop line was completed by the south-eastward extension from Kingston to Wimbledon, with its own dedicated track alongside the main line from Malden to Epsom Junction (Raynes Park), where it joined the former Wimbledon and Dorking Railway lines. The company's first London terminus
13020-400: The frame work was removed upon the truck being required for its ordinary purpose." When goods traffic commenced, the wagons were attached to the last passenger train of the day, but when the line was opened to Basingstoke a dedicated goods train was run. The guard travelled in a vehicle called a Noah's Ark, in which sundries and parcels were carried. The drawgear had no springing, and starting
13175-461: 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
13330-561: The home counties closed too in the 1960s and later, but much of the LSWR network continues in busy use to the present day. The London and South Western Railway arose out of the London and Southampton Railway (L&SR), which was promoted to connect Southampton to the capital; the company envisaged a considerable reduction in the price of coal and agricultural necessities to places served, as well as imported produce through Southampton Docks , and passenger traffic. Construction probably started on 6 October 1834 under Francis Giles, but progress
13485-475: The implementation of the Great Western Railway easier also. Giles re-surveyed in 1833, revising some income estimates, and the prospectus now proposed a capital of £1 million, the docks development having been made separate once again. The London and South Western Railway Act 1834 ( 4 & 5 Will. 4 . c. lxxxviii) received royal assent on 25 July 1834. No track gauge was specified. At Nine Elms engines would not cross Nine Elms Lane, but horses would draw
13640-539: 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
13795-445: The import of produce and materials through Southampton docks. Giles proceeded with a detailed survey, but the directors were persuaded to hold over submission of their enabling Bill until the 1833 session, possibly to observe how the London and Birmingham Railway bill fared in the 1832 session. Williams suggests that this delay enabled the London and Birmingham Railway to be the first (main line) railway out of London and that it made
13950-462: The joints, but otherwise fastened direct to the sleepers. By 1837, "63-lb [per yard] (31.3 kg/m) rails had replaced the 50-lb (24.8 kg/m) originals, in turn to be superseded by 75-lb (37.2 kg/m) rails before completion of the line." Fay says that "The line at its first opening was laid with stone block sleepers, but a few years' experience was sufficient to cause them to be replaced by wooden ones." Thomas Brassey contracted to maintain
14105-582: The junctions on it were given grade-separation. It pioneered the introduction of power signalling. In the Boer War its connections at Aldershot , Portland , and on Salisbury Plain , made it a vital part of the war effort, and later during the First World War it successfully handled the huge volume of traffic associated with bringing personnel, horses and equipment to the English channel ports, and
14260-643: 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;
14415-490: 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
14570-429: The line shared by the South Eastern Railway and the Great Western Railway gave access for LSWR trains over the remaining few miles from Wokingham to Reading . The Hampton Court branch line was opened on 1 February 1849. South of the main line, the LSWR wished to connect to the important towns of Epsom and Leatherhead . In 1859 the friendly Wimbledon and Dorking Railway opened from Wimbledon, running alongside
14725-487: The line was extended to better-situated main stations at both ends. The remainder of the original main line continues in use today, as an important part of the national rail network. This article deals with the construction of the original line up to the time of opening throughout. Subsequent information is in the article London and South Western Railway . During the Napoleonic Wars , there had been concern about
14880-442: The location was never intended as a permanent London passenger terminal; an extension was contemplated in 1836 (and was decided upon in 1844). For the time being, The London passenger found it more convenient than other companies' stations. He might leave it by road and frequently dip his hand for Turnpike tolls, or for 3d choose the steamer Citizen , or the opposing Bridegroom , to reach the capital by river, cursing his choice when
15035-457: The main line as far as Epsom Junction, at the site of the later Raynes Park station , then diverging to Epsom, joining there the Epsom and Leatherhead Railway , operated jointly with the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway . Parts of Kingston were three miles (4.8 kilometres) from Surbiton station but in 1863 a line from Twickenham to Kingston railway station (England) was opened, forming
15190-488: The more difficult parts. Giles was subject to heavy criticism for the slow progress resulting from this cause, and for his serious underestimation of the cost of construction in general. He was effectively managing the host of small contractors—by now considered to be an unsatisfactory method of pursuing the works—but at the same time he was also acting as engineer for the Southampton Docks Bill and surveying
15345-495: 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
15500-553: The new Southern Railway, it showed the way forward for long-distance travel and outer-suburban passenger operation, and for maritime activity. The network continued without much change through the lifetime of the Southern Railway, and for some years following nationalisation in 1948. In Devon and Cornwall the LSWR routes duplicated former Great Western Railway routes, and in the 1960s they were closed or substantially reduced in scope. Some unsuccessful rural branch lines nearer
15655-417: The new four storey frontage block was ready; at last Waterloo had an integrated building for passengers' requirements, staff accommodation and offices. There was a new roof over platforms 1 to 15; platforms 16 to 21 retained their original 1885 roof. Other platforms were rearranged and renewed; beyond the cab road platforms 12 to 15 were allocated to main line arrivals, opening in 1916. The station reconstruction
15810-472: The new station. Residents of Richmond upon Thames observed the popularity of this facility, and promoted the Richmond Railway from Richmond to Waterloo. The LSWR took over the construction of the extension from Nine Elms to Waterloo itself, and the line from Richmond to Falcon Bridge, at the present-day Clapham Junction, opened in July 1846. The line became part of the LSWR later that year. Already
15965-407: The offices for a length of 290 feet, and is altogether 74 feet 9 inches in width and 17 feet 3 inches high ... the top surface of each platform is 15 inches above the level of the rails. The queen-post wooden roof extends over the railway only ... the platforms are covered with flat roofs ... There are four lines of way under this shed ... near the end of the shed
16120-500: The other side, and numerous expert witnesses were called. The committee stage lasted 46 days, but at the end Parliament found for the Great Western scheme, with royal assent being granted to the act of Parliament on 31 August 1835, and the London and Southampton Railway's branch to Bristol was no more. Considerable fierce enmity was generated between the two companies during the parliamentary battle, and MacDermot, writing from
16275-424: The popularity of the island developed, the inconvenient transfer through the streets became increasingly prominent. Alternative piers on Portsea Island were built, failing to overcome the problem. A Stokes Bay branch was opened on 6 April 1863, connecting from the Gosport line; it offered direct transfer at its own ferry pier; but it was accessible via Bishopstoke, incurring a roundabout rail journey from London. It
16430-479: The railway. Reaching Bath and Bristol via Newbury was an early objective. The Great Western Railway (GWR) also planned to reach Bath and Bristol, and it obtained its act of Parliament, the Great Western Railway Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4 . c. cvii) on 31 August 1835, which for the time being removed those cities from the LSWR's immediate plans. There remained much attractive territory in
16585-557: The repatriation of the injured. It was a profitable company, paying a dividend of 5% or more from 1871. Following the Railways Act 1921 the LSWR amalgamated with other railways to create the Southern Railway , on 1 January 1923, as part of the grouping of the railways. It was the largest constituent: it operated 862 route miles, and was involved in joint ventures that covered a further 157 miles. In passing its network to
16740-485: The rival vessel arrived and cleared the other queue while his own waited half an hour. By 1848 about 1,250,000 used Nine Elms annually, including 300,000 from the [later] Richmond line, among whom lawyers and others daily suffered the rail and river trip between that town and Hungerford and Temple piers. Things improved slightly when the two steamer services combined shortly before the line opened to Waterloo. The London & Westminster Steam Boat Company took passengers along
16895-492: 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
17050-572: The safety of shipping traffic approaching London from the west (via the English Channel), and a number of canal schemes were put forward. At the same time, much of the packet traffic—urgent messages and small packages from and to foreign locations—used Falmouth as its port of entry and exit, and it was conveyed to and from London by road: a slow and inconvenient journey. An early proposal for a railway came from Robert Johnson and Abel Rous Dottin , member of parliament for Southampton. A prospectus
17205-513: 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
17360-517: 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
17515-403: 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
17670-422: The station, the locomotive was detached and the carriages were allowed to roll into one of the platforms while the guard controlled the brake. The Nine Elms site became dedicated to goods traffic and was much extended to fill the triangle of land eastwards to Wandsworth Road. Over the rest of the LSWR's existence Waterloo station was gradually extended and improved. Expanding its footprint in a heavily built-up area
17825-422: The station: The entrance to the booking-office is in the middle of this front, under an arcade which extends along the principal part of its length. On the left of the booking-office are separate waiting-rooms for ladies and gentlemen; and on the right a private office. The passenger-shed is immediately in the rear of the offices, and is approached by a door from the booking-office. The passenger-shed extends from
17980-516: The tender price for Bishopstoke. However, there was a tunnel at Fareham, and on 15 July 1841 there was a disastrous earth slip at the north end. Opening of the line had been advertised for 11 days later, but the setback forced a delay until 29 November; the ground slipped again four days later, and passenger services were suspended until 7 February 1842. With train services to Gosport operating, Isle of Wight ferry operators altered some sailings to leave from Gosport instead of Portsmouth. Queen Victoria
18135-482: The throng increased, till at length the doors were carried off their hinges, and amid the shrieks of the female portion of their number, the mob broke over the booking counter, leaped through the windows, invaded the platform and rushed pell mell into a train chartered by a private party. Finding resistance useless, the officials sent for the Metropolitan Police, and at twelve o'clock a notice was posted on
18290-622: 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
18445-432: 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
18600-467: The town: the terrain prevented a closer approach to the steamer berth. As leisure traffic developed this became increasingly, objectionable, and the mitigation provided by the horse drawn street running trams of the Ryde Pier Company from 1871, requiring two transfers for onward travel, was hardly sufficient. The LSWR and the LBSCR together built an extension line to the pier, and it opened to
18755-536: The track for ten years from 1840, for £24,000 per annum. The stations on the line at the time of opening were: The Nine Elms and Southampton station buildings were elegantly designed in the classical style by William Tite . Tunnels on the line were at: H P White, A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain—Volume 2—Southern England , Phoenix House Ltd, London, 1961, pages 110 - 116. Bristol Bristol ( / ˈ b r ɪ s t əl / )
18910-657: The track was 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge . The first rails ordered were of a flat-bottom wrought iron design, 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 in (89 mm) deep, and "of parallel form" as opposed to the fish-bellied pattern that had been popular previously. They were 15 feet (4.6 m) long. Kyanised half-round timber sleepers at 3 ft (0.91 m) spacing were used, with stone ballast from St Georges Hill, Weybridge. However it appears that some sleepers did not have preservative treatment, and their lives were accordingly short. The rails were to be in 15 lb (6.8 kg) chairs at
19065-451: The updated estimate to complete was £1.5 million. Parliamentary authority to increase the capital by what is nowadays known as a rights issue was obtained on 30 June 1837 in the London and South Western Railway Deviations Act 1837 ( 7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. lxxi), not without unwelcome opposition from Giles. The act also authorised a number of local deviations to the route which reduced
19220-468: The wagons to the river wharf, which had a 30-yard (27-metre) frontage. The route was to pass near Battersea, Wandsworth, Wimbledon, Surbiton, Woking Common, Basing, Basingstoke and Winchester, to the shore at Southampton. The railway was now to be called the London and Southampton Railway . The route took a northerly curve through Basingstoke; this was to be the launching point for the branch to Bath and Bristol via Newbury and Devizes, for which authority
19375-540: 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
19530-412: The year prior to opening, a proposed branch line to serve Portsmouth had failed in Parliament. Portsmouth interests asked the L&SR to promote a branch line to serve their city, and this was agreed to. As Portsmouth considered Southampton a rival port, the name of the London & Southampton Railway was objectionable, however, and to overcome this difficulty the L&SR determined to change its name to
19685-500: Was "well out of sight". The first accident was on 13 June 1840 when an engine ran into a train at Farnborough. Locke, as engineer to the Company, was responsible for the locomotives. His experience on the Grand Junction Railway influenced his thinking; he used engines with a single driving wheel of 5 feet to 5 feet 6 in diameter, with outside cylinders 12 or 14 inches diameter and 18 inch stroke. The gauge of
19840-412: Was a major activity, and the company built a large marshalling yard at Feltham . Freight, docks and shipping business provided almost 40 per cent of turnover by 1908. The company handled the rebuilding of London Waterloo station as one of the great stations of the world, and the construction of the Waterloo & City line , giving access to the City of London. The main line was quadrupled and several of
19995-475: Was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to 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
20150-468: Was absorbed by the LSWR in 1871 and struggled on until 1915 when part of it ws requisitioned by the Admiralty. This issue of access to steamers was finally resolved in 1876, when the existing joint line at Portsmouth was extended to a Portsmouth Harbour station, where direct transfer was at last possible. In 1864 the Isle of Wight Railway was opened, starting out from a Ryde station on the south-east of
20305-556: Was an early 4 ft 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 in ( 1,435 mm ) standard gauge railway company between London and Southampton , in England. It opened in stages from 1838 to 1840 after a difficult construction period, but was commercially successful. On preparing to serve Portsmouth, a rival port to Southampton, it changed its name to the London and South Western Railway in June 1839. Its original termini, at Nine Elms in London and at Southampton Docks, proved inconvenient and
20460-406: Was at Nine Elms on the southwestern edge of the built-up area. The wharf frontage on the Thames was advantageous to the railway's objective of competing with coastal shipping transits, but the site was inconvenient for passengers, who had to travel to or from London either by road or by steamer. Passenger steamboats left from Old Swan Pier, Upper Thames Street, not very close to the City centre but
20615-576: 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
20770-574: Was brought into use on 16 December 1878; it had two new tracks and a double sided platform; the original station now became known as the Central station, while in November 1885 the North Station was opened by extending from the Windsor station towards York Road. It had six new platform faces, so that the total was now 18 platforms, two in the South, six in the Central, four in the Windsor, and six in
20925-435: Was constructed to serve large areas of military encampment around Bordon and Longmoor, and in the speculative hope of civilian residential development. It opened on 11 December 1905. The reduction in army manpower after 1945 led to a serious decline in use and the line was closed to passenger traffic from 16 September 1957, and completely in April 1966. London and Southampton Railway The London and Southampton Railway
21080-523: 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
21235-417: Was equally cramped, and the seat was a bare board; the second class carriages were open to the weather on either side. Luggage was carried on the roof of first class carriages, and in boots underneath the seats, opening from the outside, in the case of second. "A frame work with seats, fitted on the bed of a carriage truck, constituted the vehicle in which third class passengers travelled in those days ;
21390-494: Was eventually finished in 1922; the cost of the reconstruction had been £2,269,354. It was officially opened by Queen Mary on 21 March 1922. Following the cholera outbreak of 1848–1849 in London, it was clear that there was a scarcity of burial plots in suburban London. The London Necropolis Company was established in 1852; it set up a cemetery in Brookwood served by a short branch line off the LSWR main line. At Waterloo it built
21545-419: Was expensive and slow. Four extra platforms were opened on 3 August 1860 on the north-west side of the original station, but separated from it by the cab road. These extended as far as what is today platform 16 and were always known as the Windsor station. There was an extra track between platforms 2 and 3 and this was the line connecting to the South Eastern Railway ; it opened on 1 July 1865. The South Station
21700-564: Was fond of travelling to Osborne House on the island, and on 13 September 1845 a 605 yd (553 m) branch to the Royal Clarence Victualling Establishment , where she could transfer from train to ship privately, was opened for her convenience. Between the first proposal for a railway from London to Southampton and the construction, interested parties were considering rail connections to other, more distant, towns that might be served by extensions of
21855-472: 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
22010-510: Was integrated into the main Wimbledon station during 1869. The platforms used by those trains were also to be connected to the Tooting, Merton and Wimbledon Railway which was under construction. The Tooting line connected into the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway at Streatham Junction, and the LCDR was building a connection from its Herne Hill station to Knights Hill Junction, on
22165-574: 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 ,
22320-528: Was on offer. Trains from the direct Richmond line via Barnes could access the Longhedge line at Clapham Junction, running through to Ludgate Hill by way of Loughborough Junction . This route became available on 3 April 1866. On 1 January 1869, the Kensington and Richmond line of the LSWR was ready: this ran from Richmond by way of Gunnersbury and Hammersmith to Kensington . Trains ran from there via
22475-498: Was particularly favoured, so the directors appointed him on 26 April 1837. Chaplin's steady business acumen proved a great asset to the company, and he was appointed temporary deputy chairman for two weeks in 1840 after the resignation of Easthope until Garnett took over. Joseph Locke was appointed as the engineer, but it was evident that substantially more capital was required to complete the line—Giles' original estimate had been £1 million including an allowance for contingencies, but
22630-435: Was plain that the Lancashire shareholders would not agree to this while Giles remained in place. Giles was invited to resign, which he did effective on 13 January 1837. The directors needed urgently to dispel doubt about the income of the company, and three men acquainted with the estimation of traffic were asked to submit forecasts. One of these was William James Chaplin, who had an extensive road coach business. His forecast
22785-852: Was planned for 30 June 1848, but the Board of Trade inspector Captain Simmonds was concerned about the structural stability of Westminster Bridge Road Bridge, and required a load test. This was carried out on 6 July 1848, and was satisfactory. The line opened on 11 July 1848, together with the four tracks from Nine Elms in to Waterloo. Waterloo station occupied three-quarters of an acre (0.3ha); there were two centre lines, and four other lines serving roofed platforms 300 ft (91m) long, soon after extended to 600 ft (182m). They were located approximately where platforms 9 to 12 are today. Only temporary buildings were provided at first, but permanent structures opened in 1853. At first incoming trains stopped outside
22940-458: Was published on 23 October 1830 gave support to the proposals. A private meeting of interested parties was held on 26 February 1831, and a committee of investigation was appointed, and £400 voted for initial expenses, and the services of Francis Giles were secured as engineer. A prospectus was issued on 6 April 1831 for the Southampton, London and Branch Railway and Dock Company , which
23095-641: Was rejected by Parliament in favour of the competing route proposed by the Great Western Railway . The parliamentary fight had been bitter, and a combination of resentment and the commercial attraction of expanding westwards remained in the company's thoughts. A more immediate opportunity was taken up, of serving Portsmouth by a branch line. Interests friendly to the L&SR promoted a Portsmouth Junction Railway, which would have run from Bishopstoke ( Eastleigh ) via Botley and Fareham to Portsmouth . However antagonism in Portsmouth—which considered Southampton
23250-460: Was slow. Joseph Locke was brought in as engineer, and the rate of construction improved; the first part of the line opened to the public between Nine Elms and Woking Common on 21 May 1838, and it was opened throughout on 11 May 1840. The terminals were at Nine Elms, south of the River Thames and a mile or so southwest of Trafalgar Square , and a terminal station at Southampton close to
23405-408: Was still to be sought. Considerable support had been generated for this line, even from the South of Ireland, and an act of Parliament giving authority was sought in the 1835 session. However, the Great Western Railway (GWR) had also formed a proposal in the same session for its line between London and Bristol, and the two schemes were in direct opposition. Each side fiercely criticised the plans of
23560-460: 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
23715-461: Was the second British railway company to begin running a commuter service, after the London and Greenwich Railway , which opened in 1836. When the LSWR opened its first main line, the company built a station called Kingston, somewhat to the east of the present-day Surbiton station , and this quickly attracted business travel from residents of Kingston upon Thames . The availability of fast travel into London encouraged new housing development close to
23870-403: Was to have a capital of £1.5 million. The line was to link Southampton and London, and to extend a branch to districts between Hungerford and Bath and Bristol, and the company was to make improvements to the docks at Southampton. The engineer Francis Giles was retained to design the route. A reduction in the price of coal to persons living near the line was forecast, as well as passenger traffic and
24025-519: 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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