Bedminster without the tobacco industry would have been like London without its port or Nottingham without lace. At its peak some 13,000 people were directly employed by the trade in this inner Bristol suburb. But many other related businesses and their employees benefitted indirectly from tobacco manufacturing in […]
After three days of rioting, Queen Square in the centre of Bristol lay in ruins. Properties on two sides of it were completely wiped out and the Mansion House – the home of the city’s Lord Mayor – the Excise Office and Custom House were all badly damaged. […]
It may have been a bank holiday weekend, but a team of three were hard at work restoring Independence, a vessel owned by the Bristol Ferry Boat Company. On a 1880s slipway overlooking the picturesque Bristol Floating Harbour, they were lovingly painting on a grey undercoat before the […]
What with centenary commemorations marking the beginning of the First World War in 1914 and it being 25 years since the Berlin Wall fell, we are at risk of becoming exhausted from historical anniversaries this year. But as a proud Bristolian now living in exile in London, I […]
Hidden away at the foot of the splendid Avon Gorge in Bristol, there are a few streets of houses that thousands wiz past everyday on their journey into the city. Most probably don’t stop to blink at the heritage they are missing. With little more than pubs, average […]
Drive through the centre of Bristol and you can’t miss a tatty old office block completed in 1972 for the now defunct Avon County Council. Towering into the sky, this brutal piece of architecture continues to blight the city’s skyline 17 years after the authority was abolished. But […]
Back in Bristol for Christmas, it’s fascinating to see how much the city I was born in has changed and how much hasn’t. Bars, pubs, restaurants and shops I once frequented have disappeared – either replaced by new businesses or now boarded up. Bristol, like other parts of […]
Bristolians now have the option of paying for goods and services at over 350 firms in their city with the Bristol Pound. The new scheme, the UK’s largest’s alternative to sterling, aims to boost trade in the local economy. But just how innovative is it for Bristol to […]
People from Bristol have contributed a lot to the world over the years. Bristolians played a large part in manufacturing Concorde, they created plasticine and invented the blanket. And of course John Cabot sailed from Bristol and re-discovered North America in 1497. But perhaps a lesser known fact […]
When the sun is shining there are few better places to be than sitting on the terrace of a dockside bar in Bristol. Even in the heat you can while away a few hours at ease as there is almost always a gentle breeze. Boats carrying tourists pass […]
Past In The Present 