Iron Agehillforts andRoman villas were built near theconfluence of the riversFrome and Avon. Bristol received aroyal charter in 1155 and washistorically divided between Gloucestershire and Somerset until 1373 when it became acounty corporate. From the 13th to the 18th century, Bristol was among the top three English cities, after London, in tax receipts. A majorport, Bristol was a starting place for early voyages of exploration to the New World. At the height of theBristol 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. ThePort of Bristol has since moved fromBristol Harbour in the city centre to theSevern Estuary atAvonmouth andRoyal Portbury Dock.
The name derives from theOld EnglishBrycgstow, meaning "assembly place by the bridge" or simply "site of the bridge", presumably in reference to a crossing over the Avon.[7][8] The finall is an unetymological addition that first appears in the 12th century, which may be due to the unique "Terminal L" found in theBristol dialect. An older form of the name survives as the surnameBristow, which is derived from the city.[9]
Robert Ricart's map of Bristol, drawn when he became common clerk of the town in 1478. At the centre, it shows theHigh Cross, moved in 1764 to theStourhead estate.[17]
The port developed in the 11th century around the confluence of theRivers Frome andAvon, adjacent toBristol Bridge just outside the town walls.[18] By the 12th century, there was an importantJewish community in Bristol which survived through to the late 13th century when all Jews wereexpelled from England.[19] The stone bridge built in 1247 was replaced by the current bridge during the 1760s.[20] The town incorporated neighbouring suburbs and became acounty in 1373,[21] the first town in England to be given this status.[22][23][24] During this period, Bristol became a shipbuilding and manufacturing centre.[25] By the 14th century, Bristol,York andNorwich were England's largestmedieval towns after London.[26] One-third to one-half of the population died in theBlack Death of 1348–49,[27] which checked population growth, and its population remained between 10,000 and 12,000 for most of the 15th and 16th centuries.[28]
During the 15th century, Bristol was the second most important port in the country, trading with Ireland,[29] Iceland[30] andGascony.[25] It was the starting point for many voyages, includingRobert Sturmy's (1457–58) unsuccessful attempt to break the Italianmonopoly of Eastern Mediterranean trade.[31] New exploration voyages were launched by VenetianJohn Cabot, who in 1497 made landfall in North America.[32] A 1499 voyage, led by merchantWilliam Weston of Bristol, was the first expedition commanded by an Englishman toNorth America.[33] 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.[34] However, they seem to have lost interest in North America after 1509, having incurred great expenses and made little profit.
During the 16th century, Bristol merchants concentrated on developing trade with Spain and its American colonies.[35] This included thesmuggling of prohibited goods, such as food and guns, to Iberia[36] during theAnglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).[37] Bristol's illicit trade grew enormously after 1558, becoming integral to its economy.[38]
Fishermen from Bristol, who had fished theGrand Banks of Newfoundland since the 16th century,[43] began settling Newfoundland permanently in larger numbers during the 17th century, establishing colonies atBristol's Hope andCuper's Cove. Growth of the city and trade came with the rise of England'sAmerican 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.[44] Bristol was the slave capital of England: In 1755, it had the largest number of slave traders in the country with 237, as against London's 147.[45] It was a major supplier of slaves toSouth Carolina before 1750.[46]
An 1873 engraving showingColston Hall, the port and cathedral of Bristol
The 18th century saw an expansion of Bristol's population (45,000 in 1750)[47] and its role in theAtlantic trade in Africans taken forslavery to the Americas. Bristol and laterLiverpool became centres of theTriangular Trade.[48] Manufactured goods were shipped to West Africa and exchanged for Africans; the enslaved captives were transported across the Atlantic to the Americas in theMiddle Passage under brutal conditions.[49] 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.[49] Some household slaves were baptised in the hope this would lead them to be freed. TheSomersett Case of 1772 clarified that slavery was illegal in England.[50] At the height of theBristol 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.[51]
Wesley published a pamphlet on slavery, titledThoughts Upon Slavery, in 1774[55] and theSociety 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 theSociety of Merchant Venturers records.[56] One of his contacts was the owner of theSeven Starspublic 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.[56][57] Other informants included ship surgeons and seamen seeking redress. WhenWilliam Wilberforce began his parliamentary abolition campaign on 12 May 1788, he recalled the history of theIrish slave trade from Bristol, which he provocatively claimed continued into the reign ofHenry VII.[56]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.[58] His major speech on 2 April 1792 likewise described the Bristol slave trade specifically, and led to the arrest, trial and subsequent acquittal of a local slaver captain named Kimber.[56]
The city was associated with Victorian engineerIsambard Kingdom Brunel, who designed theGreat Western Railway between Bristol andLondon Paddington, two pioneering Bristol-built oceangoingsteamships (SS Great Britain andSS Great Western), and theClifton Suspension Bridge. The new railway replaced theKennet and Avon Canal, which had fully opened in 1810 as the main route for the transport of goods between Bristol and London.[59] 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 ofNorthern England and theWest 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 afloating harbour designed byWilliam Jessop was a costly error, requiring high harbour fees.[60]
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 a compulsoryload line on ships.[61]
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.[62] The port facilities were migrating downstream toAvonmouth and new industrial complexes were founded there.[63] Some of the traditional industries including copper and brass manufacture went into decline,[64] but the import and processing oftobacco flourished with the expansion of theW.D. & H.O. Wills business.[65]
Supported by new industry and growing commerce, Bristol's population (66,000 in 1801), quintupled during the 19th century,[66] resulting in the creation of new suburbs such asClifton andCotham. These provide architectural examples from the Georgian to the Regency style, with many fine terraces and villas facing the road, and at right angles to it. In the early 19th century, the romanticmedievalgothic style appeared, partially as a reaction against thesymmetry ofPalladianism, and can be seen in buildings such as theBristol City Museum and Art Gallery,[67] theRoyal West of England Academy,[68] andThe Victoria Rooms.[69]Riots broke out in 1793[70] and 1831; the first over the renewal oftolls on Bristol Bridge, and the second against the rejection of the secondReform Bill by theHouse of Lords.[71] The population by 1841 had reached 140,158.[72]
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.[73]
From a population of about 330,000 in 1901, Bristol grew steadily during the 20th century, peaking at 428,089 in 1971.[74] Its Avonmouth docklands were enlarged during the early 1900s by the Royal Edward Dock.[75] Another new dock, theRoyal Portbury Dock, opened across the river from Avonmouth during the 1970s.[76] As air travel grew in the first half of the century, aircraft manufacturers built factories.[77] The unsuccessfulBristol International Exhibition was held on Ashton Meadows in theBower Ashton area in 1914.[78] After the premature closure of the exhibition the site was used, until 1919, asbarracks for theGloucestershire Regiment duringWorld War I.[79][80]
St Mary le Port Church, destroyed on 24 November 1940
The 20th-century relocation of the docks toAvonmouth Docks andRoyal Portbury Dock, 7 mi (11 km) downstream from the city centre, has allowed the redevelopment of the old dock area (the Floating Harbour).[88] Although the docks' existence was once in jeopardy (since the area was seen as a derelict industrial site), the inaugural 1996International Festival of the Sea held in and around the docks affirmed the area as a leisure asset of the city.[89]
On 7 June 2020 aStatue of Edward Colston was pulled down from its city centre plinth by protestors and pushed into the harbour.[90] The statue was recovered on 11 June and has become a museum exhibit.[91] The action followed more than a decade of debate over the statue and the wording of its plaque, which commemorated Colston's philanthropic work in the city while making no reference to his role in theRoyal African Company and theBristol Slave Trade.[92]
Bristol City council consists of 70 councillors representing 34 wards, with between one and three per ward serving four-year terms.[93] As of May 2024[update], no party has an overall controlling majority, but theGreen Party are the largest group on the council.
Between 2012 and 2024, the council was led by a directly elected mayor, theMayor of Bristol. The post was abolished following a 2022 referendum, in which voters chose to replace it with a council committee system.[95][96]
Thelord mayor of Bristol is a figurehead elected each May by the city council. The lord mayor (2025) is Henry Michallat.[97]
Bristol is both a city and a county, sinceKing Edward III granted it a county charter in 1373.[21] The county was expanded in 1835 to include suburbs such asClifton, and it was named acounty borough in 1889 when that designation was introduced.[23]
On 1 April 1974, Bristol became a local government district of the administrative county ofAvon.[105] On 1 April 1996, Avon was abolished and Bristol became aunitary authority.[106]
TheNorth Fringe of Bristol, 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 1987plan prepared by theNorthavon District Council of Avon county.[108]
TheWest of England Combined Authority was created on 9 February 2017.[109] Covering Bristol and the rest of the old Avon county with the exception of North Somerset, the newcombined authority has responsibility for regional planning, roads, and local transport, and to a lesser extent, education and business investment. The authority is led by theMayor of the West of England,Helen Godwin.
Bristol's boundaries can be defined in several ways, including those of the city itself, the developed area, orGreater Bristol.
Thecity council boundary is the narrowest definition of the city itself. However, it unusually includes a large, roughly rectangular section of the westernSevern Estuary ending at (but not including) the islands ofFlat Holm (inCardiff, Wales) andSteep Holm.[110] This "seaward extension" can be traced back to the original boundary of the County of Bristol laid out in the charter[111] granted to the city byEdward III in 1373.[112]
Bristol lies within alimestone area running from theMendip Hills in the south to theCotswolds in the northeast.[114] The rivers Avon and Frome cut through the limestone to the underlying clay, creating Bristol's characteristically hilly landscape. The Avon flows from Bath in the east, throughflood 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 thelast ice age.[115]
The gorge, which helped protect Bristol Harbour, has been quarried for stone to build the city, and its surrounding land has been protected from development asThe Downs and Leigh Woods. The Avonestuary and the gorge form the county boundary withNorth Somerset, and the river flows into theSevern Estuary atAvonmouth. A smaller gorge, cut by theHazel Brook which flows into theRiver Trym, crosses theBlaise Castle estate in northern Bristol.[115]
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.[116] 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 is 106 mi (171 km) west of London, 77 mi (124 km) south-southwest ofBirmingham and 26 mi (42 km) east of the Welsh capitalCardiff. Areas adjoining the city fall within a loosely defined area known asGreater 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 ofNewport is 19 mi (31 km) to the north west.
The climate isoceanic (Köppen:Cfb), milder than most places in England and United Kingdom.[117][118] Located in southern England, Bristol is one of the warmest cities in the UK with a mean annual temperature of approximately 11 °C (52 °F).[119][120] It is among the sunniest, with more than 1,600hours of sunshine per year.[121] Although the city is partially sheltered by the Mendip Hills, it is exposed to the Severn Estuary and theBristol 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 is unsettled.[122][123]
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.[124] Temperatures at Long Ashton from 1959 to 2002 ranged from 33.5 °C (92.3 °F) in July 1976[125] to −14.4 °C (6.1 °F) in January 1982.[126] Monthly high temperatures since 2002 at Filton exceeding those recorded at Long Ashton include 25.7 °C (78.3 °F) in April 2003,[127] 34.5 °C (94.1 °F) in July 2006[128] and 26.8 °C (80.2 °F) in October 2011.[129] The lowest recent temperature at Filton was −10.1 °C (13.8 °F) in December 2010.[130] Although large cities in general experience anurban heat island effect, with warmer temperatures than their surrounding rural areas, this phenomenon is minimal in Bristol.[131]
Climate data forFilton,[a] elevation: 48 m (157 ft), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1958–present[b]
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 charityForum for the Future's 2008Sustainable Cities Index.[134][135] Local initiatives includeSustrans (creators of theNational Cycle Network, founded as Cyclebag in 1977)[136] and Resourcesaver, a non-profit business established in 1988 by Avon Friends of the Earth.[137] The city regularly features in the annualSunday Times lists of best places in Britain in which to live, topping the list of cities in 2014 and 2017.[138][139] The city received the 2015European Green Capital Award, becoming the first UK city to receive this award.[140]
In 2019 Bristol City Council voted in favour of banning all privately owneddiesel cars from the city centre.[141] Since then, the plans have been revised in favour of aclean 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.[142]
The city has green belt mainly along its southern fringes, taking in small areas within theAshton 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 fromurban sprawl to surrounding villages and towns.
According to the2021 census, 81.1% of the population wasWhite (71.6%White British, 0.9%White Irish, 0.1%Gypsy orIrish Travellers and 8.3%Other White); 4.5%mixed-race (1.6% white-and-black Caribbean, 0.6% white-and-black African, 1.2% white and Asian and 1.1% other mixed); 6.7%Asian (1.8%Pakistani, 1.9%Indian, 1.2%Chinese, 0.6%Bangladeshi, and 1.2% other Asian); 5.8%Black (3.8% African, 1.4%Caribbean, 0.6%Other Black), 0.5%Arab and 0.4% with other heritage. 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.[74] 56.2% of the 209,995 Bristol residents who are employed commute to work using either a car, van, motorbike or taxi, 2.2% commute by rail and 9.8% by bus, while 19.6% walk.[147]
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."[148] 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 the 3rd highest level of educational inequality in England and Wales.[148]
In the 2011 United Kingdom census, 46.8% of Bristol's population identified asChristian and 37.4% said they were not religious; the English averages were 59.4% and 24.7%, respectively.Islam is observed by 5.1% of the population,Buddhism by 0.6%,Hinduism by 0.6%,Sikhism by 0.5%,Judaism by 0.2% and other religions by 0.7%; 8.1% did not identify with a religion.[150]
The population ofBristol's contiguous urban area was put at 551,066 by the ONS based on Census 2001 data.[161] In 2006 the ONS estimated Bristol's urban-area population at 587,400,[162] making it England's sixth-most populous city and tenth-most populous urban area.[161]At 3,599/km2 (9,321/sq mi) it has the seventh-highest population density of any English district.[163] According to data from 2019, the urban area has the 11th-largest population in the UK with a population of 670,000.[164]
Two of the four Nails (bronze tables used for conducting business) inCorn Street
Bristol has a long history of trade, originally exporting wool cloth and importing fish, wine, grain and dairy products;[166] later imports were tobacco, tropical fruits and plantation goods. Major imports are motor vehicles, grain, timber,produce and petroleum products.[167]
The city's economy also relies on theaerospace, defence, media, information technology, financial services and tourism industries.[168][169] TheMinistry of Defence (MoD)'s Procurement Executive, later known as theDefence Procurement Agency andDefence Equipment and Support, moved to its headquarters toAbbey Wood, Filton, in 1995. This organisation, with a staff of 12,000 to 13,000, procures and supports MoD equipment.[170] One of the UK's most popular tourist destinations, Bristol was selected in 2009 as one of the world's top-ten cities by international travel publishersDorling Kindersley in theirEyewitness guides for young adults.[171]
Bristol is one of the eight-largest regional English cities that make up theCore Cities Group, and is ranked as a Gamma levelglobal city by theGlobalization and World Cities Research Network, the fourth-highest-ranked English city.[172] In 2017 Bristol'sgross domestic product was £88.448billion.[173][174] Itsper capita GDP was £46,000 ($65,106, €57,794), which was some 65% above the national average, the third-highest of any English city (after London andNottingham) and the sixth-highest of any city in the United Kingdom (behind London,Edinburgh, Glasgow,Belfast and Nottingham).[173] According to the 2011 census, Bristol's unemployment rate (claimingJobseeker's Allowance) was three per cent, compared with two per cent forSouth West England and the national average of four per cent.[175]
Although Bristol's economy no longer relies upon itsport, which was moved to docks at Avonmouth during the 1870s[176] and to the Royal Portbury Dock in 1977 as ship size increased, it is the largest importer of cars to the UK. Until 1991, the port was publicly owned; it is leased, with £330million invested and its annual tonnage increasing from 3.9million long tons (4million tonnes) to 11.8million (12million).[177] Tobacco importing and cigarette manufacturing have ceased, but the importation of wine and spirits continues.[178]
The financial services sector employs 59,000 in the city,[179] and 50 micro-electronics and silicon design companies employ about 5,000. In 1983Hewlett-Packard opened its national research laboratory in Bristol.[180][181] In 2014 the city was ranked seventh in the "top 10 UK destinations" byTripAdvisor.[182]
During the 20th century, Bristol's manufacturing activities expanded to include aircraft production at Filton by theBristol Aeroplane Company and aircraft-engine manufacturing by Bristol Aero Engines (laterRolls-Royce) at Patchway. Bristol Aeroplane was known for their World War IBristol Fighter[183] and World War IIBlenheim andBeaufighter planes.[183] During the 1950s they were a major English manufacturer of civilian aircraft, known for theFreighter,Britannia andBrabazon. The company diversified into automobile manufacturing during the 1940s, producing hand-built,luxuryBristol Cars at their factory in Filton, and the Bristol Cars company was spun off in 1960.[184] The city also gave its name to Bristol buses, which were manufactured in the city from 1908 to 1983: by Bristol Tramways until 1955, and from 1955 to 1983 byBristol Commercial Vehicles.[185]
FinalConcorde flight on 26 November 2003, shortly before landing on the Filton runway
Filton played a key role in the Anglo-FrenchConcorde supersonic airliner project during the 1960s. The British Concorde prototype made its maiden flight from Filton toRAF Fairford on 9 April 1969, five weeks after the French test flight.[186] In 2003British Airways andAir France decided to discontinue Concorde flights, retiring the aircraft to locations (primarily museums) worldwide. On 26 November 2003 Concorde 216 made the final Concorde flight, returning toBristol Filton Airport as the centrepiece of a proposed air museum which is planned to include the existing Bristol Aero collection (including a Bristol Britannia).[187]
The aerospace industry remains a major sector of the local economy.[188] Major aerospace companies in Bristol includeBAE Systems, a merger ofMarconi Electronic Systems andBAe (the latter a merger of BAC, Hawker Siddeley and Scottish Aviation).Airbus[189] and Rolls-Royce are also based at Filton, and aerospace engineering is an area of research at the University of the West of England. Another aviation company in the city isCameron Balloons, who manufacturehot air balloons;[190] each August the city hosts theBristol International Balloon Fiesta, one of Europe's largest hot-air balloon festivals.[191]
In 2005 Bristol was named by the UK government one of England's six science cities.[192][193] A £500million shopping centre,Cabot Circus, opened in 2008 amidst predictions by developers and politicians that the city would become one of England's top ten retail destinations.[194] TheBristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, focused on creative, high-tech and low-carbon industries aroundBristol Temple Meads railway station,[195] was announced in 2011[196] and launched the following year.[195] The 70 ha (170-acre)Urban Enterprise Zone has streamlinedplanning procedures and reducedbusiness rates. Rates generated by the zone are channelled to five other designated enterprise areas in the region:[197] Avonmouth, Bath,Bristol and Bath Science Park in Emersons Green, Filton, and Weston-super-Mare. Bristol is the only big city whose wealth per capita is higher than that of Britain as a whole. The wider region has one of the biggest aerospace hubs in the UK, centred on Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN at Filton airfield.[198]
The Coopers Hall, part of the Bristol Old Vic Theatre Royal complexSite of the formerBristol Industrial Museum, now theM Shed
Bristol has a thriving arts scene. Some of the modern venues and modern digital production companies have merged with legacy production companies based in old buildings around the city. In 2008 the city was a finalist for the 2008European Capital of Culture, although the title was awarded to Liverpool.[199] The city was designated "City of Film" byUNESCO in 2017 and has been a member of theCreative Cities Network since then.[200]
TheBristol Old Vic, founded in 1946 as an offshoot ofThe Old Vic in London, occupies the 1766 Theatre Royal (607 seats) onKing Street and the Weston Studio in the adjacent Coopers' Hall (built in 1743), with a 2018 bar and foyer area. The Theatre Royal, a grade Ilisted building,[201][202] is the oldest continuously operating theatre in England.[203] TheBristol Old Vic Theatre School (which originated in King Street) is a separate company, and theBristol Hippodrome is a 1,951-seat theatre for national touring productions. Other smaller theatres include theTobacco Factory,QEH, the Redgrave Theatre atClifton College, The Wardrobe Theatre,Bristol Improv Theatre, and the Alma Theatre. Bristol's theatre scene features several companies as well as the Old Vic, includingShow of Strength,Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory and Travelling Light. Theatre Bristol is a partnership between the city council,Arts Council England and local residents to develop the city's theatre industry.[204] Several organisations support Bristol theatre; the Residence (an artist-led community) provides office, social and rehearsal space for theatre and performance companies,[205] andEquity has a branch in the city.[206]
Well Hung Lover, one of manyBanksy artworks in the city, which has since been vandalised with blue paint (partially cleaned by the city council)
Green upon the flooded Avon shone the after-storm-wet-sky, Quick the struggling withy branches let the leaves of autumn fly, And a star shone over Bristol, wonderfully far and high.
Bristol has 51Grade I,[202] 500Grade II* and over 3,800Grade II listedbuildings[235] in a variety ofarchitectural styles, frommedieval to modern. During the mid-19th centuryBristol Byzantine, a style unique to the city, was developed, and several examples have survived. Buildings from mostarchitectural periods of the United Kingdom can be seen in the city. Surviving elements of the fortifications and castle date to the medieval period,[236] and the Church of St James dates back to the 12th century.[237]
The oldest Grade I listed buildings in Bristol are religious.St James' Priory was founded in 1129 as aBenedictine priory by EarlRobert of Gloucester, the illegitimate son ofHenry I.[238] The second-oldest isBristol Cathedral and its associatedGreat Gatehouse.[239] Founded in 1140 as anAugustinian monastery, the church became the seat of thebishop and cathedral of the new Diocese of Bristol in 1542. Most of the medieval stonework, particularly the Elder Lady Chapel, is made from limestone taken from quarries aroundDundry andFelton withBath stone being used in other areas.[240] Amongst the other churches included in the list is the 12th-centurySt Mary Redcliffe which is the second tallest building in Bristol. The church was described byQueen Elizabeth I as "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England."[241]
Secular buildings includeThe Red Lodge, built in 1580 for John Yonge as alodge for a larger house that once stood on the site of the presentBristol Beacon (previously known as Colston Hall). It was subsequently added to inGeorgian times and restored in the early 20th century.[242]St Bartholomew's Hospital is a 12th-century town house which was incorporated into a monastery hospital founded in 1240 bySir John la Warr, 2nd Baron De La Warr (c. 1277–1347), and becameBristol Grammar School from 1532 to 1767, and thenQueen Elizabeth's Hospital 1767–1847. The round piers predate the hospital, and may come from an aisled hall, the earliest remains of domestic architecture in the city, which was then adapted to form the hospital chapel.[243] Three 17th-century town houses which were attached to the hospital were incorporated into model workers' flats in 1865, and converted to offices in 1978.St Nicholas's Almshouses were built in 1652[244] to provide care for the poor. Several public houses were also built in this period, including theLlandoger Trow[245] on King Street and theHatchet Inn.[246]
Bristol has been awarded Purple Flag status[257] on many of its districts, which shows that it meets or surpasses the standards of excellence in managing the evening and night-time economy.
DJ Mag's top 100 club list ranked Motion as the 19th-best club in the world in 2016.[258] This is up 5 spots from 2015.[258] Motion is a complex made up of different rooms, outdoor space and a terrace that looks over the river Avon.[259] In 2011, Motion was transformed from a skate park into the rave spot it is today.[260] Other famous clubs in the city includeLakota andThekla.
The Attic Bar is a venue located inStokes Croft.[261] Equipped with a sound system and stage which are used every weekend for gigs of every genre, the bar and the connected Full Moon Pub were rated byThe Guardian, a British daily paper, as one of the top ten clubs in the UK.[262] In 2014, the Great British Pub Awards ranked The Apple as the best cider bar in the UK.[263]
A dialect of English (West Country English), known as Bristolian, is spoken by longtime residents, who are known as Bristolians.[264] Bristol natives have arhotic accent, in which the post-vocalicr incar andcard is pronounced (unlike inReceived Pronunciation). The city is regarded as one of the last locations in England, along withBlackburn, to preserve the traditional English rhotic R sound.[265] The unique feature of this accent is the 'Bristol (or terminal) l', in whichl is appended to words ending ina oro.[266] Whether this is a broadl or aw is a subject of debate,[267] witharea pronounced 'areal' or 'areaw'. The ending ofBristol is another example of the Bristoll. Bristolians pronounce-a and-o at the end of a word as-aw (cinemaw). To non-natives, the pronunciation suggests anl after the vowel.[268][269]
Bristolian is characterised by use ofcassn't instead ofcan't andcanst anddissn't instead ofdidst anddidn't.[270] The second-person singular was retained and children were admonished with "Thee and thou, the Welshman's cow". In Bristolian, as in French and German, the second-person singular was not used when speaking to a superior (except by the egalitarianQuakers). The pronounthee is also used in the subject position ("What bist thee doing?"), andI orhe in the object position ("Give he to I.").[271] LinguistStanley Ellis, who found that many dialect words in the Filton area were linked to aerospace work, described Bristolian as "a cranky, crazy, crab-apple tree of language and with the sharpest, juiciest flavour that I've heard for a long time".[272]
The twoFootball League clubs are Bristol City and Bristol Rovers—the former being the only club from the city to play in the precursor to thePremier League. Bristol City, formed in 1894, were Division One runners-up in 1907 and lost the FA Cup final in 1909. In the First Division in 1976, they then sank to the bottom professional tier before reforming after a 1982 bankruptcy. They have been above Bristol Rovers in the Football League since 2000, and were promoted to the second tier of English football in 2007.[273]Bristol City Women were formerly based atTwerton Park, but now shareAshton Gate Stadium as a home venue with the men's team.[274]
Bristol Rovers, the oldest professional football team in the city, were formed in 1883 and promoted back into the Football League in 2015. They were third-tier champions twice (Division Three South in 1952–53 andDivision Three in 1989–90),Watney Cup Winners (1972) and runners-up for theJohnstone's Paint Trophy (2006–07) although have never played in England's top division.
Bristol Bears formed in 1888 and has often competed at the highest level of rugby union.[275] The club played at theMemorial Ground, which it shared with Bristol Rovers from 1996, until moving to Ashton Gate Stadium in 2014.[276][277] They changed their name from Bristol Rugby to Bristol Bears to coincide with their return toPremiership Rugby inthe 2018–19 season.
BBC Broadcasting House as seen from Whiteladies Road
Bristol is home to the regional headquarters ofBBC West and the BBC Natural History Unit based at Broadcasting House, which produces television, radio and online content with anatural history orwildlife theme. The city has a long association withDavid Attenborough's authored documentaries, includingLife on Earth,[284]The Blue Planet andPlanet Earth.The BBC announced in 2021 that it was moving the production of many of its programmes from Broadcasting House toFinzels Reach in the centre of Bristol.[285]
Bristol has two daily newspapers, theWestern Daily Press and theBristol Post (both owned byReach plc); and a Bristol edition of the freeMetro newspaper (owned byDMGT).The Bristol Cable specialises in investigative journalism with a quarterly print edition and website.
Aardman Animations is a Bristol-based animation studio, known for the charactersWallace and Gromit andMorph.
Publishers in the city have included 18th-century Bristolian Joseph Cottle, who helped introduceRomanticism by publishing the works of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.[287] During the 19th century, J.W. Arrowsmith published the Victorian comediesThree Men in a Boat (byJerome K. Jerome) andThe Diary of a Nobody byGeorge andWeedon Grossmith.[288] The contemporary Redcliffe Press has published over 200 books covering all aspects of the city.[289] Bristol is home toYouTube video developers and stylistsThe Yogscast, with founders Simon Lane and Lewis Brindley having moved their operations fromReading to Bristol in 2012.[290]
The city has produced a number of scientists, including 19th-century chemistHumphry Davy[303] (who worked inHotwells). PhysicistPaul Dirac (fromBishopston) received the 1933 Nobel Prize for his contributions toquantum mechanics.[304]Cecil Frank Powell was the Melvill Wills Professor of Physics at the University of Bristol when he received the 1950 Nobel Prize for, among other discoveries, his photographic method of studying nuclear processes.Colin Pillinger[305] was the planetary scientist behind theBeagle 2 project, and neuropsychologistRichard Gregory founded the Exploratory (a hands-on science centre which was the predecessor of At-Bristol/We The Curious).[306]
Initiatives such as theFlying Start Challenge encourage an interest in science and engineering in Bristol secondary-school pupils; links with aerospace companies impart technical information and advance student understanding of design.[307]TheBloodhound LSR project to break theland speed record is based at the Bloodhound Technology Centre on the city's harbourside.[308]
Bristol's principal surviving suburban railway is theSevern Beach Line to Avonmouth andSevern Beach. AlthoughPortishead Railway's passenger service was a casualty of theBeeching cuts, freight service to the Royal Portbury Dock was restored from 2000 to 2002. TheMetroWest scheme, formerly known as The Greater Bristol Metro, proposes to increase the city's rail capacity[310] including the restoration of a further 3 mi (5 km) of track on the line toPortishead (adormitory town with one connecting road), and a further commuter rail line from Bristol Temple Meads toHenbury, on anexisting freight line. Following numerous delays, the two lines are due to be opened in 2026.[311][312]
The M4 motorway connects the city on an east–west axis from London toWest Wales, and the M5 is a north–south west axis from Birmingham to Exeter. TheM49 motorway is a shortcut between the M5 in the south and the M4Severn Crossing in the west, and theM32 is a spur from the M4 to the city centre.[309] ThePortway connects the M5 to the city centre, and was the most expensive road in Britain when opened in 1926.[313][314]
Private car use is high in the city, leading to traffic congestion costing an estimated £350million per year.[315]Bristol allows motorcycles to use most of the city's bus lanes and provides secure, free parking for them.[316] In 2022, Bristol implemented aClean Air Zone to reduce pollution by charging the most polluting vehicles to enter the city centre, with the money raised reinvested in transport.[317]
Although the city council has included alight rail system in itslocal transport plan since 2000, it has been unsuccessful in funding the project.[323] Instead, Bristol has a network of fivebus rapid transit routes, namedMetroBus, which in part run on dedicated infrastructure. The Metrobus project aimed to provide a faster and more reliable service than standard buses, improving transport infrastructure and reducing congestion,[324] but has been criticised as a limited success because the routes are not fully segregated from other traffic.[325] The first routes opened in 2018,[326] and as of 2025, they connect the city centre withEmersons Green,Bristol Parkway,Cribbs Causeway,Hengrove, and apark and ride nearLong Ashton.[327]
Bristol was designated as England's first "cycling city" in 2008 and one of England's 12 "Cycling demonstration" areas.[330] It is home toSustrans, the sustainable transport charity. TheBristol and Bath Railway Path links it to Bath, and was the first part of theNational Cycle Network. The city also has urban cycle routes and links with National Cycle Network routes to the rest of the Country. Cycling trips increased by 21% from 2001 to 2005.[315]
In 2023,Bristol Airport (BRS), located in neighbouringNorth Somerset, was ranked the eighthbusiest airport in the United Kingdom. It handled 9.9 million passengers, an 14% increase compared with 2018.[331]
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