Bristol History

Bristol takes its name from a saying which, loosely translated means the place at the bridge.

It is a very old city and as such is steeped in history and beautiful architecture. It is a port city and has been trading as port of over 1000 years. During the 14th Century the port really took off and the city was the main port within the UK for exports. It was trading with many countries including Spain and a number of Mediterranean islands as well as America at a later date.

Bristols position as a bustling port lead to it becoming a leading city in the UK during the 18th century and there were many products entering the city, most of which had come from the New World. These included items such as tobacco and rum to name just a couple. The city had very strong links with the slave trade and the history of this can be widely seen within the city today. Clifton is an affluent area of Bristol where there are a number of beautiful Georgian buildings. This is a legacy of this time as many of the wealthy merchants built these homes os they could live a little removed from the busy harbourside.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel did a lot of engineering work within city and much of the amazing architecture is due to him. This includes the well-known Clifton Suspension Bridge, the SS Great Britain and the Temple Meads Railway Station.

Like many locations in Britain, Bristol suffered during some of the many blitzes of World War II. A significant amount the historic architecture was destroyed and fortunately some of this has been restored. The city centre itself saw a lot of the damage and, when it was rebuilt, some unattractive cheaper looking buildings were put up as replacements. Redevelopment in recent years has replaced some of these.

In modern times the city has seen the growth of its airport (situated a few miles outside of the city) into an international airport. There are plans to extend the airport to make it even bigger meaning that it is likely to become even busier in the years to come.